Monday 01-06-2026 - 16:52

A Seat at the Table: A Belonging Fund project

Our Project is called ‘A Seat at the Table’, a series of workshops where students sit together at a table and craft items for a table setting, the idea that this would bring students together so that they could creatively express themselves and connect with was Emily Dowler’s, Learning and Engagement Assistant for University Library and Collections; she was seeking student panel members to help realise the initial idea, choose artists, direct the creative outcomes, as well as organise and facilitate the workshops. We, Tessa Von Muhlen, Emily Hodgen and Daneille Pinto, heard about the opportunity from a professor in Visual Arts and Film and emailed her to get involved. 

The workshops were inspired by Judy Chicago’s 1979 installation artwork, The Dinner Party. The installation is a triangular table with 39 place settings, each dedicated to a different significant woman from mythology and history. A Seat at The Table is founded on a concept of representation, where everyone has a place to express themselves and be seen and heard; while Chicago’s settings depicted the lives and contributions of famous women, here, students were able to create settings themselves which expressed their own unique backgrounds, interests and perspectives, while being able to take part in an open, safe, and curious discussion. In our first meeting discussing the project, each of the student panel members brought up their personal responses to the concept: the tablecloth reminded Tessa of the AIDS quilt, which memorialised individual lives lost to the epidemic in a great patchwork; she felt that it was a perfect way to bring diverse experiences together to create a visual emblem of belonging at the university. Emily appreciated the idea of a seat at the table as a welcoming concept. It ushers in those who may have otherwise felt excluded from the university experience. She especially liked A Seat at the Table as a representation of a dinner table. Food is a key component to forming personal relationships and unites people while exhibiting their cultural differences and similarities. Therefore it is perfect to illustrate the Belonging Fund’s message of allowing students the space to be different together. 

Planning the workshops was a fun and collaborative experience. We discussed artists and ideas, exploring a range of amazing artists, and then designed social media posts to share on Instagram, in collaboration with the SU. During the workshops, we documented the project through photos and videos, which were posted on social media. To further promote the Belonging Fund, we also discussed the project in an interview with the Palatinate to convey the need to prioritise students' experience of belonging here at Durham.

The workshops themselves were led by the artists; Bianco Perry, Folly and Bird, Fabel Beings and Mani Kambo, who created a welcoming and accessible atmosphere, which made the art fun for everyone, no matter their level of expertise. This created a relaxed environment in which people could decompress while making new friends and getting creative. We worked to create a welcoming atmosphere through music and plenty of tea, coffee, and biscuits! 

The activity of making art is incredibly bonding, as was made evident through the workshops. Occupying our hands lessened the pressure of meeting new people and created a sense of community, as everyone was united through the project. The workshops usually started out quiet, but before long everyone was talking and laughing. As the workshops progressed, real friendships became apparent, as participants lingered after the end of the workshops to talk and exchange contact details. 

As conversations emerged and people were given the opportunity to think about their home lives, we were able to learn about each other and our experiences of Durham. The university can feel like such a daunting place, especially for international students; the bubbles of community made possible by these workshops are so important to ensuring students don’t feel stranded. This is a feeling that is easily cultivated, but through conversation and fun, easily dispelled.

The project did not end with the last workshop: we will exhibit the settings at multiple venues so as to promote belonging at Durham. We will invite participants to speak about the experience at these events. We have also been gathering data on how the workshops may have affected students’ sense of belonging. As student panel members, this has been a wonderful experience - we have gained invaluable skills in organising, advertising and running events, and have had the privilege of watching friendships being made and seeing people try things they’d never done before!

You can see the final installation of artworks created as part of A Seat at the Table at our celebration event on Tuesday 23^rd June, 11am-1pm in Durham Student Union. RSVP to Emily at e.v.dowler@durham.ac.uk if you would like to attend.

By Tessa Von Muhlen and Emily Hodgen