As the debate around migration in the UK grows more toxic, an intriguing art installation is serving as trigger for reflection on the experiences of people seeking refuge.

The Kent refugee Action Network (KRAN) has created a created a public artwork titled ‘Seats of Passage’ which invites passers-by to pause and think about the often dire experiences of people seeking refuge.

The artwork comprised of eight deck chairs made from disused life jackets was displayed on the seafront in Margate, Kent, the arrival point for many asylum seekers travelling by small boat across the English Channel.

Migrant arrivals and rescues feature regularly in its local news. And, locally, there is a feeling that Kent has disproportionate burden of accepting migrants, especially in terms of accommodation and funding.

The artwork subverts the traditional British seaside totem of the deckchair to highlight and represent the dangers migrants face in making small boat journeys.

As they sit in the deckchairs looking out to sea, participants listen through headphones to the anonymous voices from KRAN’s young people, sharing their hopes and visions for the future.

The stories highlight the value those seeking refuge bring can bring to a host society and the yearning of people to live with dignity and respect.

One recording says: “A good life is to live with my family, in a place where we feel safe, we feel like we belong and have no worries or fear of what’s going to happen tomorrow. Because if there is peace you will have hopes for tomorrow.”

The installation also questions British values, democracy, the rule of law and tolerance, highlighting how the UK government is rewriting the European Convention of Human Rights, which was created following the Second World War as it removes legal rights for refugees in the UK.

The artwork’s creators say most of those crossing the English Channel are people fleeing war-torn or oppressive countries where no safe and formal routes such as refugee visas exist for making an asylum claim in the UK.

The people trying to cross the channel can legitimately claim asylum in the UK if they reach it and about 98-99 per cent of all arrivals do claim asylum.

Migration is currently dominating news coverage in the UK, and sections of the media have become obsessed with asylum seekers.

And, as the UK reaches a decade of small boat crossing, public sentiment is growing increasingly hostile.

Seats of Passage and the Power of Listening – Activism Influence and Change