Artist Marina Velez has been working with residents of HMP Peterborough and the community of Ravensthorpe and Westwood in creating a new piece of work Conversational Placemats. The project consisted of four workshops held in the newly opened WestRaven Big Local Community Café. 

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Within these workshops participants were encouraged to come together, join in conversation and come up with words that would be designed onto placemats. These placemats were then used in a celebratory-shared meal to spark discussions between dinners.

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“Doing the project Conversational Placemats in Peterborough was a fantastic experience. The first workshops with the inmates of HMP exceeded my expectations. I was met with intelligent, inquisitive and brave women who spoke their mind and were not afraid to explore difficult topics but equally unafraid of having fun in the process. I was very moved by the intensity and depth of the conversations that happened during the workshops and I would like to express my gratitude to the participants. 

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The third and fourth workshops with the people at WestRaven Community Cafe were a celebration of what can be achieved if we work collaboratively and support one another. The people of WestRaven showed unity, warmth, friendship and the power of uniting under a common goal.”

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The works shown in this exhibition are a selection of placemats produced by participants and a short film produced by Marina about her experience.