“It Changed My Life”: Survivor of Modern Slavery Rebuilds THEIR LIFE Through THE POWER OF CREATIVITY AND CONNECTION
Every October, Anti-Slavery Day reminds us that modern slavery is not just a historical injustice – it’s a current crisis. In the UK alone, over 17,000 people were identified as potential victims of modern slavery in 2023. Many remain hidden in plain sight, enduring horrific abuse and exploitation.
Through Art is Freedom, an annual campaign from the charity Hestia and its partners, survivors of modern slavery are enabled to reclaim their voices through creativity.
Earlier this year, thanks to support from multinational law firm Ashurst, Create was proud to collaborate with Hestia to deliver a series of painting workshops led by our professional artist Alba, culminating in a public exhibition in five locations across London for Anti-Slavery Day.
In this blog, we’re honoured to share the voice of one participant who took part in the project – a survivor of modern slavery who chose to tell their story anonymously, in their own words.
Content warning: This blog contains references to modern slavery, including forced labour, physical abuse, and trauma, which some readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised.
HESTIA AND CREATE
“I was onboarded as a client with Hestia in July of last year.
“This was after being rescued by police from a modern-day slavery situation. Hestia were there for me from the beginning. The process with a lot of modern-day slavery situations is that the police fill out a National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a mechanism by which the Home Office [gets involved] specifically for those who have been affected by modern-day slavery.
“I was contacted by them and was moved to a safe house first, then moved to temporary accommodation. From then, within a week of my rescue, Hestia assigned me an advocate.
“Advocates are the frontline individuals who [are] responsible for your situation and try to guide you through the NRM. They also [make you aware of] events and volunteering activities.”
Thanks to the support of multinational law firm Ashurst, we work with Hestia each year to deliver a series of weekly creative workshops for survivors in their care. These sessions offer a supportive space where participants can explore self-expression, build connections and skills, and process trauma through the creative arts.
“That’s how I got involved with Create. My advocate had recommended a workshop for me because I spent almost 11 months confined to my studio flat, not interacting with anyone, not doing anything outside answering calls from my advocate.”
the workshops were a really good way of me getting back into society because I’d isolated myself from the world after going through this traumatic experience.”
ART IS FREEDOM Participant
MODERN-DAY SLAVERY EXPERIENCE
“I was forced into a modern-day slavery situation, where I was made to do work for a restaurant/ fast food company in horrible conditions. I was forced to do long hours with shifts lasting between 12 hours -14 hours on a daily basis with no breaks. During my confinement I was tortured, burnt and beaten repeatedly. This situation lasted for almost two months before I was rescued by the Metropolitan Police.”
ART IS FREEDOM PROJECT
Delivered over 10 weeks by Create, the Art is Freedom workshops were designed not just to teach new skills but to create a supportive community space for healing.
“Create [delivers] an Art is Freedom programme with Hestia that offers a variety of artistic workshops. They give victims a means of creatively expressing their experiences. There’s a social element as well.
“[When I started the project] it was the darkest period of my life. I was deeply depressed. I was scared of leaving the house because the criminals who did what they did to me were still around. I was in fear of my life. So, I just stayed at home. I didn’t speak to anyone. I didn’t do anything. It was a hermit-like existence.
“The first session was genuinely the first time I had [gone further than 10 minutes outside] my house in 11 months. I was super nervous. I didn’t know who would be there, what it would be like.
“But it was amazing. The [Create and Hestia staff] are amazing at making people feel comfortable and included. It felt good because everyone had gone through similar experiences. And you didn’t feel like you had to hide or explain yourself. You could just be.
“Everyone there seemed like, whilst they were painting, they were releasing so much stress, so much anxiety.”
There was a calming peace about the whole environment. It felt like a safe space. It was an amazing experience.
ART IS FREEDOM Participant
Led by our professional artist Alba, the participants explored new techniques each week, responding to the theme ‘Seen and Heard’.
“I’ve always been into art. I’ve done bits and bobs, but I’ve never spent as much time as I did with the Create project. There was a great educational side to it as well. Every week we learned [about] new artists, how they express themselves, different techniques. Alba was amazing. I learned more [on this project] than I ever did in art GCSE!
“Some of the pieces that I made [were] a way of expressing the things that I’ve gone through. The genre of abstract expressionism worked really well for me. A lot of the experiences are very difficult to be exact about, because it’s like a fog of pain and trauma that you’re in. That’s reflected a lot in my work.
“It just felt so right to express in that way”
Each piece for me was my way of letting things go in a way. And it helped me a lot.
art is freedom participant
HEALING THROUGH CREATIVITY
“After the 10-week programme, everything in my life started to click back to normal. I was being more friendly with people. I was socialising more, doing more things in the community, even simple things like doing the groceries. It felt normal to me for the first time in a long time.
“My pieces were like a therapy session. I can honestly say that [the project] changed my life. I would be a very different person without it.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
More than 50 million people are living in modern slavery worldwide today. Projects like Art is Freedom demonstrate how creativity can be a powerful tool in recovery and long-term rehabilitation, not only rebuilding confidence, but restoring agency and hope.
“We sometimes get bogged down with achieving arbitrary targets – certificates, accomplishments, wages etc. But when we die, we die – those things don’t come with us. The best thing about life is exploring as much as you can about the human experience.
“Creative expression is often overlooked, but it solves a lot of problems. It’s a powerful way of expressing ideas as a human being.
“We’re so interconnected – we can all be victims at some point. We can actually do something about it. With issues like modern day slavery and human trafficking, more needs to be done about it because people are unnecessarily suffering.
“The more exposure [this has], the more we can get results. Hopefully through the efforts of Create and Hestia, fewer people every year [will] get involved in these situations.”
