Illustration students table their thoughts on faith

Students with Dr Nanette Hoogslag and Teakster in front of the Table of Thoughts

An installation by students on ARU’s BA Illustration and MA Illustration courses for international conference Faith, Rights & Community Building in Times of Crisis - International Academic and Community Collaborations has received an overwhelmingly positive response in the conference report.

The ‘Table of Thoughts’ created a symbolic space where people could come together, connect and break bread. All delegates (including representatives from faith (youth) groups from the UK and abroad as well as the United Nations and the UNCR) were asked to contribute their thoughts and statements, which formed the surface of the table, chairs and ‘carpet’ underneath.

Large numbers of attendees, including members of the speakers’ panels, queued to be photographed sitting at the table – particularly for the ritual of ‘breaking of bread’ and sharing at the end of the conference.

The co-creation installation was developed by students Alexa Alessi, Beth Pickett, Donglin Song, Zoeh Zhang, Laura Wu, Ng Psalms and Ciara Calthrop under the supervision of Muslim artist Teakster, who specialises in murals and street art, and Dr Nanette Hoogslag, Course Director for ARU’s MA Illustration.

The conference – a collaboration between UK educational charity Bridging Spiritual Cultures, ARU, the University of Hertfordshire and the United Nations (UN) Faith4Rights framework team – was organised to explore the UN Faith 4 Rights Framework, and ways to promote and protect safe and inclusive communities.