It’s like my grandmother’s house: meaning-making at The Community Table

In this article, the authors discuss The Community Table used by the charity Art Refuge with people who are displaced and seeking refuge. The Community Table is an arts-based, open-access, trauma-responsive model for conceptualising and optimising psychosocial group interactions in humanitarian and crisis contexts. The article examines key ideas relating to the cultural and relational interplay between those who gather around the table in different settings. It gives particular attention to the significance of intergenerational dynamics, including the role of elders, especially grandmothers, as cultural carriers and sources of relational continuity. The discussion is illustrated with extracts from case material drawn from the authors’ work: face-to-face in Calais, northern France, and online in Yida refugee camp, South Sudan. The authors conclude that the open-access, arts-based approach of The Community Table and the way it uses the work of art therapists and artists has potential application across a wide range of settings, particularly where mental health needs are high and resources are limited.