Where We Belong is a participatory art project designed to bring Coventry’s diverse communities together to co-create an illuminated installation on Coventry Canal. The project uses simple, sustainable materials – paper, willow, bamboo, and personal stories – to build handmade lanterns representing places of home, belonging, and identity.
Drop in to the Powerhouse between 10am – 1pm for this free event and help make large lantern versions of iconic Coventry buildings or make your own small lantern building.
These lanterns will be presented in a celebration marking the Spring Equinox on the evening of Friday 20 March.
The Spring Equinox, a moment of perfect balance between light and darkness, symbolises renewal, hope, and new beginnings. This natural turning point resonates strongly with the themes of the project: people finding light after displacement, communities re-rooting themselves, and individuals carrying the places that shaped them into new chapters of their lives. In this way, the equinox becomes both a backdrop and a metaphor, illuminating Coventry’s stories of home, belonging, and connection.
Accompanied by an immersive soundscape of music, poetry, and recorded personal stories from participants, the event will celebrate light, renewal, and community connection in a city proud of its heritage of sanctuary, reconciliation, and peacebuilding.