Superbloom: London City-Wide Art-Intervention + Mapping Project in Support of UNHCR Refugee Welcome 2024

The accompanying map was repurposed from a previous project commissioned by London Underground with the Saatchi Gallery and the International Management Group (IMG). The project was cancelled by the outbreak of COVID 19. We were literally going to print on the Monday of the lockdown announcement.

Locations all over London were scattered with blooms growing out from between the cracks in buildings. Found at locations as diverse as Borough Market, the Southbank Centre, Scarlet and Violet flowershop, various London universities and even Kings Cross station, Superbloom was about resilience and the energy of human potential. It honoured the idea that we can all combine to welcome and provide the right circumstances for refugees and asylum seekers to flourish in the UK and other places in the world.

The Seeds of Hope🌱​

Learn about these stunning new artworks in London and hear stories of community and solidarity from refugees: https://t.co/Rtok8tqGWO pic.twitter.com/SzOInrFerr

— UNHCR United Kingdom (@UNHCRUK) May 20, 2024

The UNHCR:

“’The Seeds of Hope’’ by British conceptual artist Kate Daudy in support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, will run from 16 May for two weeks across London. The artist will paste A3-A4 size bio-degradable felt flowers across a dozen buildings throughout London, linking to a repository of uplifting stories about refugees and asylum-seekers in their own words. Symbolizing hope, Kate’s flower interventions across the city with the accompanying stories will call to mind the oneness of humanity and the fact that we are all connected. Just as seeds blown by the wind can flower under any circumstance, the project will demonstrate how refugees with the right support and compassion can and do thrive.”

The Seeds of Hope project showcases the oneness of nature and humanity. Specifically, with owner permission, it consists of over a dozen felt-flower art-pieces by British artist, Kate Daudy, installed across numerous London locations (cafes, restaurants, shops, houses, galleries, iconic monuments, community gardens, places of learning and more). Each piece links through wooden QR codes to ten refugee-videos (each under 30 seconds) talking about flowers and seeds that have a meaning to them. There is also a video of the project (including cutdown versions for use on social), and 3 web-stories (on the participating London spaces, the refugee story-tellers, and the overall project). The press release is also here.

This visually beautiful project shines a light on the amazing and inspiring initiatives that are happening in London in support of refugees. The overall project evokes how we can all do good and how refugees with the right support and compassion can thrive – just as seeds blown by the wind can flower under any circumstance.

UNHCR