Hope & Ponies

Hope & Ponies brings together hopes from people born around the world in an installation of banners. The project gathers hopes and gives them tangible form. Led by Katherina Radeva and Alister Lownie (Two Destination Language), with Ukrainian artist Nadia Sokolenko, this collection reflects hopes contributed by exhibition visitors across the UK — people who have always lived here, people who have moved here and people for whom it is a temporary home.
Made using upcycled fabrics, the banners reflect the fragile and uncertain nature of the hopes upon which our futures are built, recognising that hope is at the same time the source of strengths to lift us into better Tomorrows.

Two Destination Language is the collaboration between Katherina Radeva and Alister Lownie. A first-generation migrant woman from Bulgaria and a Scotsman. Their work is often interdisciplinary, bold and political. Their performances draw textures from the visual arts and intersect with theatre, dance and live art. Visually stunning and intellectually stimulating it leaves the viewer asking more questions than giving straight answers in an attempt to nudge its audience into a caring space of nuance and complexity of the multi-layered human nature.

Accompanying film They Promised Us Ponies (38 mins) is part of the installation and it explores hope in relation to the climate crisis.