Stories of Solidarity

Stories of Solidarity is a drop-in zine-making workshop and poster exhibition exploring expressions of solidarity, connection, and belonging in Liverpool following the summer 2024 protests and counter-protests.

The event runs from 11am – 3pm in the Victoria Gallery & Museum, beginning with a short 10-minute introduction to zine-making. In this session, visitors will be shown how to fold and create a simple booklet, providing a starting point for their own zine. After this, people are welcome to drop by at any time, browse the exhibition, and take part in zine-making at their own pace, supported by zine artist Jean McEwan.

Zines are small handmade booklets created with simple materials like paper, pens, and collage. They are easy to make, require no art skills, and open up space for people to express themselves freely, share experiences, and tell stories that might otherwise go unheard.

Alongside this an exhibition, first displayed at Bridewell Studios in June 2025, brings together creative work from community zine-making workshops across Liverpool. These works highlight expressions of solidarity that emerged in response to the protests, and perspectives of affected communities including Asylum Link Merseyside, Al Rahma Mosque, and Abdullah Quilliam Mosque.

In addition, photographs from theatre workshops facilitated by Phoebe McSweeney of Afloat Social Theatre in collaboration with Asylum Link Merseyside will be displayed. These workshops explored solidarity, community, and belonging through theatre, adding further dimensions to the conversation.

Whether you want to make your own zine, contribute to the “messages of solidarity” display, or simply explore the exhibition, you will have the opportunity to be part of a wider dialogue about care, community, and solidarity with others.

Summer 2024 saw organised protests targeting migrant communities across the UK, including Liverpool, protests which have evolved and reappeared this year.

These events have caused fear and disruption in affected communities, but they have also sparked powerful acts of resilience and expressions of solidarity from across Liverpool and beyond. Acts of solidarity, care and support by groups and individuals, have been symbolically and practically important in demonstrating connection and belonging with others.

Research funded by ESRC and AHRC through the University of Liverpool Impact Acceleration Fund seeks to explore and share these dynamics using creative methods of zine-making as a way to open up dialogue.

Zines - small handmade booklets created with simple folding, paper, pens, and collage - allow people to tell their own stories and perspectives in creative, accessible ways. No art skills are required, and participants are free to experiment.

Creative acts like zine-making are forms of craftivism – a gentle activism that disrupts hostility, nurtures empathy, and creates space for recognition and care. In this sense, Stories of Solidarity is both a therapeutic and a political project: seeking to develop spaces where communities can resist hostility and division and reimagine how we live together more inclusively.

Alongside the zine-making activity, a poster exhibition will be on display. First shown at Bridewell Studios in June 2025, the evolving exhibition brings together creative responses from a number of community workshops held in Liverpool. Together, these works highlight voices often overlooked in public debate, showing the strength, creativity, and solidarity of communities under pressure.

By visiting the exhibition, making your own zine, or contributing to the messages of solidarity, you have the opportunity to add your voice to this wider dialogue, contributing to discussions on how we sustain acts of care, connection, and resistance to division in Liverpool and more widely.

Heather Bullen, Caroline Hands, Gayle Brewer from the University of Liverpool institute of Population Health are academic leads.

Non-academic partners are Asylum Link Merseyside

Creative Facilitator for the 8th November and ongoing for the Stories of Solidarity project are Jean McEwan, Emeri Curd, Jo Wilson

Anyone is welcome to attend

This event will be of interest to those from communities particularly affected by the summer 2024 protest but is of relevance to all Liverpool residents who want to reflect on solidarity and belonging in the city.

It will also appeal to community organisers, activists, artists, students, and researchers interested in creative methods, storytelling, and social justice.

The event is open to everyone, and no art experience is needed - just an interest in exploring how creativity can bring people together and offer alternative forms of dialogue with others.

There is no cut off times for bookings please do feel free to drop in at any time during opening hours.