At Pistachios in The Park Cafe, in Manor House Garden; Created for Art Voyage’s Echoes of Migration, celebrating Lewisham community, movement and belonging, supported by Arts Council England and the National Lottery.
Ryan’s artwork takes the form of a reimagined tabletop — a meeting place woven from textiles, stories, and community research. This large-scale tapestry celebrates the borough’s vibrant cultural, architectural, and social history through colour, texture, and storytelling.
Crafted from richly sewn felt, the piece honours the several migrant cultures that keep the heart of the borough beating. Each hue and fabric thread carries the spirit of the many communities that make Lewisham extraordinary. The tapestry’s palette reflects the colours of Jamaica, Nigeria, Ghana, Vietnam, Barbados, Ireland, Cuba, India, Poland, China, Sri Lanka, and many others – forming a living patchwork of shared belonging.
“La Mesa Del Pueblo” was created by Ryan Hawaii, as part of the Echoes of Migration project, an Art Voyage Biennial CIC initiative, curated by Tima Jam and Awarded funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England in October 2025, created with the support of Lewisham Council, Friends of Manor House Gardens, Glendale Services, and Pistachios in The Park Cafe, in Manor House Gardens that shape London’s identity.
Like much of his practice, this work merges the personal and the political, honouring craftsmanship while speaking to the resilience of communities that continue to shape the city’s cultural fabric. The installation embodies Ryan’s belief that art should not exist apart from daily life but within it, transforming the commonplace into something filled with spirit, dialogue, and connection. Through layered textiles and vibrant colour, he turns a simple meeting place into a living monument to creativity, heritage, and shared humanity.
Beyond textiles, Ryan’s recent sculptural and installation works continue this dialogue between art, community, and everyday life. In transforming ordinary public objects, such as benches, into vibrant cultural monuments, he reimagines shared spaces as sites of belonging and celebration. These works bring spirit and storytelling to the familiar, merging craftsmanship and social consciousness to honour the diverse communities.
About Echoes of Migration Public Art in Manor House Garden
Step into a landscape where art, nature, and stories intertwine.
The Echoes of Migration public sculptures celebrate the beauty of migration and movement, with each work serving as a symbol of resilience, belonging, community, and renewal. Together, they speak of the shared journey of migration and the cultural threads that shape our communities.
Begin by the lake, where Vladimir Lalić’s dragonfly-inspired sculpture “To Move is to Bloom” (2025) rises gracefully from the water — a meditation on transformation and hope. Your journey doesn’t end there — follow it onward to Manor House Gardens, where Alice Burnhope’s residency invites you into a space of making, dialogue, and discovery. There, her tactile and immersive works open new conversations about migration, materiality, and care — continuing the exchange that began with the Echoes of Migration Summit 2025.
Let this walk be an invitation to reflect, connect, and explore.
Visit the link below to learn more about the artists, their stories, and the wider Echoes of Migration project.
Join us!
Your donation to Echoes of Migration, is not just supporting a project – you’re joining a movement that celebrates migrant communities, empowers artists, and transforms public spaces into living places of memory, creativity, and pride.
Together, we can make sure every story is seen, heard, and valued!