Presented as part of Horizons Festival 2025, this exhibition responds to the festival theme, More in Common, reflecting a shared desire to find common ground and build understanding to prevent fractures in society caused by hate, fear and misinformation.
More in Common acknowledges the brave people who advocate for unity in times of division, celebrating those who strive for justice, equity and reconciliation across the nations, whose work is deeply rooted in a belief in our collective humanity. More in Common pays tribute to the people, artists, and groups building bridges, creating connections, nurturing and growing communities, and challenging hate and despair. We have more in common than that which divides us.
CAN worked with partner organisation WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together), a network of sanctuary-seeking women in Greater Manchester to deliver a series of five visual arts workshops linking to the festival theme. The work created includes mixed media collages created using textile and repurposed found material, presented in the Inspire Gallery.
The workshop programme was led by Zimbabwean visual artist Ashleigh Beattie, working alongside women from WAST’s sewing club who met on Thursdays during April and May at Central Methodist Buildings. The group worked with various scraps of fabric as well as found material that reminded the women of past and present homes, to explore the theme of More in Common, from the participant’s perspectives.
Speaking about the inspiration for this co-created exhibition, Ashleigh Beattie says:
“… For this series of work we were considering the similarities of the place we now live in with the places from our past. We wanted to weave these two worlds together to reflect and consider the things we have in common. We found similarities in the types of national flowers that are represented by Botswana, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, to name a few, and we set these against the backdrop of us all residing within greater Manchester...”
Led by Community Arts North West and HOME, Horizons celebrates the enduring power of creativity and the incredible international artists who have made Manchester their home.
WAST Manchester is a grassroots organisation led by and for women seeking asylum in Greater Manchester. We campaign for social justice and women's rights through a peer-led support model that helps women find their place in the UK. We deliver our work based on the values of compassion, respect, inclusion and empowerment. Our goal is to support women within the UK’s asylum system to integrate into the wider community and feel empowered to know their rights and have access to support regarding their basic needs, healthcare, immigration cases and other activities run by the charity.
Ashleigh Beattie is a Zimbabwean artist based in Manchester. She came to the UK in 2005 to study Fine Art at Cumbria Institute of the Arts. Since then, she has lived and worked as an artist, teacher, workshop facilitator and mother. Her practice explores themes of displacement and belonging as a migrant living in the diaspora. She repurposes everyday materials such as newspapers and tin cans. Through her work these materials are transformed and given permanence. This repurposing draws from her childhood in Zimbabwe, where nothing is thrown away - everything is repurposed.
