Celebrating cultural riches

New Art Exchange in Nottingham is a contemporary art space dedicated to new perspectives about the value of diversity in art and society. In accordance with our mission, we host a range of special events during Refugee Week in June to promote minority artists, stimulate new ideas and serve the needs of our local community in the inner-city neighbourhood of Hyson Green. It is estimated that there are about 7,000 refugees and 500 destitute asylum seekers living in Nottingham, and the purpose of Refugee Week is to celebrate their positive contributions to society and to challenge the stereotypes and barriers that exist between communities through the arts, debates and cultural exchange.

The exhibition… stimulated interesting conversation regarding living in conflict zones, seeking asylum in an unfamiliar land, human rights and freedom

Refugee Week consists of curated events and exhibitions that we produce, and events delivered in partnerships with the community. Each year a collective of East Midlands-based organisations and individuals working under the name of Beyond Borders coordinates the events. The group convenes on a monthly basis throughout the year, covering areas such as event planning, funding and marketing. This relationship enables all organisations to share skills and knowledge, connect with new audiences, and raise the profile of Refugee Week in Nottingham. All members benefited from cross-promoting with Beyond Borders as it allowed us to connect with new audiences. Funded by Nottingham City Council, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum, and host organisations, Beyond Borders created an events brochure and press releases. Each member of the group was responsible for distributing the brochures, which was an effective model to reach a broad audience. In our own locality we have an abundance of community centres, most of which welcome and support international audiences. Nottingham Libraries works hard to make libraries a space where refugees can feel at home, and therefore was a valuable place to share event information.

We reconnected with people who had attended past events, such as our own Melting Pot Festival, which celebrated world food and culture and was delivered with contributions from female asylum seekers, refugees and those with a migration background. The rest of the year we host a range of events dealing with issues of migration, such as our regular VOCAL events designed to create a safe place to address difficult or personal issues.

Our central event ‘VOCAL: Refugee Week Special’ was a panel discussion which drew upon a range of expertise and unique perspectives. Aya Haidar, Director of Al Madad Foundation, talked about her charity’s work promoting education and artistic expression for disadvantaged children in the Middle East. Roger Bromley, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies at Nottingham University, whose academic research includes the representation of refugees and asylum seekers in film, presented excerpts from La Pirogue and Leave to Remain exploring the disillusionment of refugees leaving home in hope for a better future. Samuel Javid provided information about Journeys Festival and shared a film screening of Journeys to Leicester produced by ArtReach, where five refugees describe the challenging journeys they have made and the difficulties they face living in Leicester. Zimbabwean refugee, Allan Njanji presented his hard-hitting film Destitution: Our Story. Set against the backdrop of Nottingham, the film is composed of interviews with destitute refused asylum seekers and conveys difficult personal experiences as well as avenues of support.

Refugee Week occurred alongside our main exhibition The Current Situation, a solo show by Yara El-Sherbini, which is a critique of global issues of migration, world powers and assumed cultural stereotypes. We commissioned a participatory artwork that subverts the traditional buzz-wire game into the form of a giant metal map of the world. Borders are charged, both electrically and politically, like barbed wire patrolling boundaries. If the participant navigating the world makes a false move alarms ring, red lights flash and the player is made into a spectacle, reflecting refugee experiences.

Alongside this exhibition, we presented ‘Jigsaw, the Eastern Piece’ by Iranian photojournalist Babak Bordbar, documenting the Komala camp, a Kurdish political party. Here, young men and women fight for the rights of the Kurdish people, but face exile from Iran. The exhibition launch attracted Kurdish and Iranian audiences, and stimulated interesting conversation regarding living in conflict zones, seeking asylum in an unfamiliar land, human rights and freedom. An additional pop-up exhibition ‘When the war was over: Europeans refugees after 1945’ displayed research conducted by historians at the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester. Through historic events, the exhibition offered new perspectives on the origins of present-day political, social and cultural debates on issues related to migration, refugees and asylum.

After a stimulating and well-attended week of events, Beyond Borders is already working together to plan next year’s programme. We look forward to developing and hosting many more Refugee Week activities that will spur meaningful discussions about refugee experiences.

Laura-Jade Klee is Marketing and Communications Officer at New Art Exchange.
www.nae.org.uk