Heather Bullen is a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy from the School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing. Here she tells us about a research project that has focused on zine making with female asylum seekers.
The project originated last year with a conversation between myself and Ewan Roberts, Centre Manager of Asylum Link Merseyside. Ewan highlighted the negative impact of toxic media narratives on asylum seekers and asked, “Where do people go to read positive stories about themselves?”. This led me to explore zines as a creative method for asylum seekers to tell their own stories.
What we did
Supported by funding from Research England. the project provided female asylum seekers in the women’s group in Asylum Link with a platform to express their creativity through collective art. The funding brought in Jean McEwan, a zine-maker and creative facilitator to work towards a collective zine (or online magazine).
The research team included myself, Jean McEwan, Professor Gayle Brewer, and Ayra Yoosufani, an occupational therapy Masters student. Ayra's volunteering experience within the women's group supported trust-building. Our trauma-focused approach and a gradual introduction to zine-making, where simple paper crafts were developed into more complex collage work, helped foster empowerment and consent building up to the zine-making day.
Zine-making day
On 23 May, we held a zine-making day. Jean's thoughtful selection of safe, universal images created a nurturing environment. Students Testimony Alabi, Nuha Al Rahim and Onjur Alam provided additional support, with Testimony focusing on engaging the children, allowing the women to concentrate on their art.
The event was marked by joy and mutual support. Popular images like hearts, butterflies, and suns symbolised love, care, freedom, strength and womanhood. Clare, the women’s group facilitator, described the day: “Around the table we sat, women from all over the world, united through art... We shared love and friendship, paper and sequins... Time to breathe and relax, and reflect.”
Ayra reflected, “Being involved in the zine-making project …allowed me to witness firsthand the incredible power of creative expression”. Women expressed feelings like "happy," "relaxed," and "I forgot everything." Many women chose to sign their work, affirming their sense of themselves as artists. This required ethical review but was ultimately supported.
Developing and exhibiting the zine and artwork
Around sixty pieces of art were created. Decisions about the layout were made collectively with Jean McEwan. We held an exhibition of individual artwork during Refugee Week on 20 June to showcase the women's achievements. This was followed by a zine launch on 27 June at Asylum Link Merseyside, which featured presentations by Rory Golding of Action Asylum, Jean McEwan, and members of the women’s group. Each woman received her framed artwork and two copies of the zine. Tate Liverpool and Bridge 2 Liverpool were present and expressed interest in future collaborations.
The project highlighted the importance of community, connection and creative expression. It demonstrated the power of zines in fostering pride, value and visibility among female asylum seekers. Jean McEwan remarked, “The beauty and power of the artwork they created shines through in the zine - as does the sense of community and love in the group. What a privilege it has been for me to work with the women.”
Find out more
Check out the online zine on Asylum Link’s Asylum Link’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Special thanks to Richard Mayers from TEL for creating a video of the printed zine for online sharing.