Arts engagement and storytelling as pathways to solidarity with refugees

The refugee crisis has been described as a crisis of solidarity (Ki-moon 2016). This project asks what is solidarity, and how can it be fostered between host communities and refugees? By working with Opera North, newly recognised Theatre of Sanctuary, the project considers how arts engagement and storytelling create and sustain solidarity between host states and refugees. Drawing on a philosophical analysis of the concept of solidarity and empirical study of arts-based practices, it makes an innovative contribution to understanding issues of inclusion, refugee integration, and the potential of the arts to foster solidarity through engagement.