Arabel Lebrusan

Support HomeLAND,
A Socially Engaged Art Installation Urgently Seeking Funds: £2,800

Devon
June - July 2025

Southcombe Barn, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Newton Abbot, Devon, UK

HomeLAND is a powerful site-specific art installation of 100+ swallows with engraved tin beaks: symbols of migration, memory and belonging. Installed in summer 2025 beneath a Hornbeam tree at Southcombe Barn, Devon, it evokes a forest of stillness for a species constantly migrating.

The birds will be co-created through workshops for local schoolchildren and refugees with Beyond Borders, plus two family drop-in sessions in collaboration with the National Garden Scheme. Led by myself and local ceramicist Kate Lyons-Miller, these clay and tin workshops foster kinaesthetic empathy: adults and children learning from one another through shared movement and making.

Formed from local Dartmoor clay and Cornish tin, HomeLAND will give rise to conversations about the deeply entrenched heritage of our land, and wider contemporary issues of migration, refuge and refugees. It will offer reflections on the past, present and future of “Home” as a continuum.

This socially engaged art project was envisioned in collaboration with curator Vashti Casinelli and will be presented during Dartmoor Clayscapes: Empathic Journeys through Clay – a programme of arts featuring Iman Datoo, Florence Peake and myself Arabel Lebrusan. Comprising workshops, interactive performance and film, it engages with the materiality of clay ‘kinaesthetically’, inviting us to reflect on contemporary issues of migration and ecological crisis, supporting the development of empathic responses to both human and more-than-human forms of life. Click HERE to find out more.

To ensure the ultimate success of this socially-engaged art project, I am now seeking funding to cover some of its costs. Here’s how your support would make an unforgettable impact…

What is the crowdfunding for?

  • The cost of materials and transport; clay and tin, sourced locally from independent vendors
  • Firing of the approx. 140 clay bird sculptures
  • The time of the artists leading the clay and tin workshops (Kate and myself; four days each)
  • Producing and printing flyers to promote the project (including photography)
  • Installation of the work in Southcombe Barn’s grounds
 

Why HomeLAND?

  • It brings site-specific, socially engaged art to rural Devon, enriching local culture and building community
  • It brings new visitors to Southcombe Barn’s gardens – currently being developed with Beyond Borders and Refugee Support Devon – helping to shine light on their important work
  • Its hands-on clay and tin workshops will not only impart newfound knowledge and skills – perhaps even inspiring future endeavours -they’re designed to build empathy, cross-cultural understanding and a sense of place. Arts Council research shows that place-based art helps improve wellbeing and reduce isolation – key needs in rural areas
  • It further highlights how art can be used to address contemporary social themes like migration and home through a lens of shared humanity – using local, environmentally conscious materials and a deep sense of care for land and people

 

When is it happening?

  • Workshops throughout June
    • 13th & 27th June, 11am -3pm: Public drop-in clay workshops led by myself Arabel Lebrusan and Kate Lyons-Miller
    • Not publicly disclosed: Two private workshops with refugees and schoolchildren 
  • Installation open to the public Friday 4th – Saturday 6th July, 10am – 4pm
 
Thank you so much for considering playing an instrumental role in this social project. Your support is deeply appreciated.

HOW to support this project?
Our DIY crowdfunding campaign

© 2025 Arabel Lebrusan

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