Brighter Futures T-Shirt Collection
The following has been written by the members of Brighter Futures, a group of young migrants who campaign for change. Their t-shirt collection is now available via the Praxis website.
Who are Brighter Futures?
We are Brighter Futures, a group of young migrants who work together to speak up for the rights of people like us. We want to change the way the UK sees young migrants, and challenge negative perceptions held by the public and those in positions of power. We are fighters for change.
“We were joyful and eager to embark on a creative journey.”
Why are we making t-shirts?
As young migrants, we might not be able to be involved in direct action, so we thought designing and making t-shirts would be an effective way for us to create impact and raise awareness.
The t-shirts don’t just represent us, but everyone around the world. Someone might be going through challenges and ups and downs, and these t-shirts can motivate people to believe in a Brighter Future.
If you believe in our mission and would like to support, you can visit our online shop to purchase one of our designs. Every t-shirt sold will help to directly support our group and combat some of the negativity that young migrants face every day.
Our Design Challenge
We started our design challenge by making artworks with a powerful statement that addresses the situation that young immigrants are facing. We had some inspo pics to give us some ideas and created our own images and slogans, in line with the messages we wanted to highlight.
We used lino-cut printing which was a learning curve, but a fun and new experience. To create the white parts of the design you must carve it out of the lino, then you put the ink onto the lino and transfer it to the paper. This creates the designs on the page.
Using a completely new style of art design was amazing and made us think of different creative arts to present our message. We were bringing our creativity to life and we felt connected because we were doing it as a whole group.
“Everyone’s ideas were as important as each other.”
Developing Our Designs
In this stage we worked in groups to develop our designs on t-shirts and ended up with a lot of designs! Group members were trying different designs, patterns and having fun.
We were thinking about the final t-shirts and how they must be suitable for people of all ages and genders. When you buy something, you don’t just want to feel beautiful but comfortable too and identified with it.
At this stage we were also thinking about other merch like tote bags and mugs, using the means we have, to combat negativity and hate.
Making Decisions
This was a democratic stage where we worked as a group to reason why we liked certain designs. Though every design was perfect in its own way, we had to choose designs that we all resonated with and conveyed our message.
It was a happy part of the process as we all agreed, but the saddest too because some designs didn’t make it. However, we were confident that our ideas would be exhibited in the Pathways Art Show exhibition.
This was also the first time we saw our designs mocked up on models which helped us make our decisions. We then put our creative minds to work to modify the designs and make changes to make sure they looked the best.
“Not only were we making patterns we were gaining skills.”
The Final Designs
Seeing the final designs really brought it to life and we were very grateful about it.
We discussed how these would be presented on the website and decided to put our Brighter Futures logo on the t-shirt to show our group.
When people wear our t-shirts, they should believe they are champions of positive change. They are another way of showing support to young migrants and help to change perspectives through powerful words and images.
Buying a t-shirt will support the future of our group and migrants everywhere.