The Art of Belonging: Social integration of young migrants in urban contexts through cultural place-making
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Education
Abstract
Since 2015 cities across Europe have increasingly become destinations for young forced migrants. This project brings together city leaders, artists, and researchers to promote integration and increase social participation in communities affected by migration. Given that participation in the arts can enhance place-making and encourages social belonging, this project will develop, implement, and evaluate arts-programmes for migrants in case-study cities in England, Germany, and Sweden. It will understand barriers to social integration amongst refugees and host communities, especially relating to gender This will lead to knowledge translation from this empirical study to develop sustainable solutions to social integration and citizenship.
| Description | In both cities, we are beginning to impact how municipalities and arts and cultural organisations are perceiving their potential role in supporting the inclusion of new arrivals in the city. The project has identified barriers and encouraging factors which impact provision in this sector. The barriers can be summed up under the following headings: Communication and identifying gatekeepers: Knowing what opportunities are out there. Arts and cultural organisations find it difficult to communicate their activities to the relevant target groups, and this is more challenging with young refugees and asylum-seekers. Finance: In the English context, youth programmes have been significantly cut and most previous or current arts programmes have been funded by short-term grants. This significantly impacts the range of activities provided for young people in the city, especially those seeking to include refugee and asylum-seekers. Access: Young people, especially those from refugee or asylum-seeking backgrounds cannot rely on family to bring them into the city and find it difficult to pay for transport into the city in order to attend the activities Movement: Many young refugees and asylum-seekers especially those living outside the city centre are reluctant to travel outside their own area, this is exacerbated for those who are living in temporary accommodation as they are moved frequently to different accommodation as their immigration status changes Gender: Gender could be a barrier to participation especially for new arrivals from communities where traditionally activities are experienced separately by men and women. Depending on the nature of the activity, some attracted only male participants whilst others attracted only female participants Enabling factors to participation are where activities are culturally sensitive and/or not dependent upon language proficiency. For example, activities that involve refugees' sharing food or demonstrating cooking, opportunities for sports were also mentioned as big attractors. In the English context, the National Citizen Scheme (NCS) was mentioned as an example of a programme that worked well to help young people come together and participate in activities with people they had not known before. Some NCS programmes involve arts and cultural activities. The findings from the case studies illustrate the ways in engagement with an arts organisation/programme of activity can foster a sense of belonging for the newly arrived. The cultural rucksack in Nottingham and Lund comprises workshops within an arts-space with arts activities within cultural and arts places within the cities. The findings show that participants feel an enhanced sense of belonging through creating memories in the new place, getting to know a place, feeling part of a community that extends a welcome, doing something that others will like/ value in a place, and making their mark. In addition, for the participants engaging in communal and individual artistic expression and endeavour has been an opportunity to build relationships both with others who have had similar experiences and are new to this place and with those in the community who want to extend a welcome. At the time of writing this report the overarching emergent key findings are: There need to be clear mechanisms for signposting relevant activity to new arrivals and these mechanisms need to involve the range of stakeholders involved in supporting refugee and asylum-seekers. Future iterations of a Cultural Rucksack programme need to be flexible to reflect the participants' need for flexibility (e.g. to be able to make appointments with lawyers around their legal status). Involvement with arts activities helps increase a sense of individual and collective wellbeing for new arrivals. Mobile phones are essential tools to overcome basic linguistic barriers and for communicating vivid images of experiences from past contexts. The Cultural Rucksack programme has helped new arrivals to see that arts and cultural places can be places for them to visit in the city. UPDATE MARCH 2023 Our key findings are detailed in full in the Art of Belonging Final Report (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cracl/documents/art-of-belonging.pdf) and the accompanying national policy brief (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/policy-and-engagement/Documents/Policy-briefs/Policy-Brief-migrant-inclusion.pdf). We summarise the key findings here: 1. Arts and cultural participation are catalysts for social connectedness and belonging and galleries, libraries, and museums function as spaces for learning about cultures and values different to your own. 2. Barriers to young people engaging with arts and cultural activities within their city are magnified for young new arrivals. Finding out about and then financing and accessing activities is a challenge. Arts and cultural organisations find it difficult to communicate their activities to the relevant target groups- and this is more difficult with young new arrivals. Cultural activity for new arrivals needs to be both visible (to the new arrival and those supporting them), and sustainable (beyond short term grant funding) and part of annual planned arts programming. 3. The project enhanced social connectedness by: a. challenging stereotypical representations of refugees, particularly young unaccompanied males. The project showcased the skills and potential of the young new arrivals and the final exhibitions offered opportunities for the public to see this potential summed up by a member of the public writing in the comments book: 'So pleased you are here. In our city. Your city. Thank you for your contribution to the exhibition.' b. Creating opportunities for bringing together people from the host community with the new arrivals through cultural participation c. Encouraging empathy and the desire to help 4. Young new arrivals' involvement with arts activities has a number of benefits associated with positive mental health. These included overcoming isolation, strategies to lessen triggers of past traumas and negative emotions, creating new memories, Some participants explained how they had arrived in the country with nothing, many having lost any belongings on their journeys here. The project came the skills to create artefacts to furnish their homes. 5. The project showcased development of skills and personal efficacy, illustrating how the new arrivals can contribute to their communities and the region 6. The project highlighted the potential use of public and shared spaces to celebrate the outcomes of future iterations of the project. Members of the public suggested the following: a. Take interactive workshops into the communities, libraries, parks, shopping centres to get the young people working with the community b. Urban trail of the artwork c. Pop ups in train station, libraries, empty shopsadverts in local businesses - d. Setting up stalls to sell the art pieces. 7. However, the project also illustrated that even where there are policies and resources in place, such as in the Swedish context, these do not always translate into practice. It is crucial that the authorities realise that aspects of working with marginalised groups demand personalised engagement. Whilst the bureaucratic processes are necessary, if they are prioritised above all else then the more flexible work on the ground with marginalised groups is made harder. Our recommendations are as follows: Governments should support regional and local authorities to offer a planned programme of social inclusion activity for young, forced migrants and new arrivals, especially those who arrive unaccompanied in our cities with no support network. Potential benefits include: • Enhanced community engagement & cohesion, by allowing new arrivals to contribute their skills & efforts to local areas • Greater opportunities for all members of society to reach their potential, including those to whom the UK has given sanctuary • More dynamic public cultural spaces, more engaged young people, and a greater sense of local pride and belonging • Greater sense of cultural citizenship, leading to social connectedness and inclusion • Improved mental health and wellbeing among migrants and the communities they live in We created a website with a bank of resources for municipal leads and for artists wishing to develop their own Art of Belonging programme, this also includes blog documenting the project. |
| Exploitation Route | The project is ongoing. At this stage the outcomes are that in Nottingham, the city council and the arts and cultural Challenge Board will be taking forward the enhanced cultural rucksack programme offer for refugees and asylum seeking young people. We expect this work to be taken forward by academics and relevant stakeholders in Sweden in the coming months. UPDATE MARCH 2023 In Nottingham there have been two further iterations of the Art of Belonging project for Ukrainian new arrivals. In Lund the Municipality have funded a roll out of the programme called ArtsInclusive. I have secured some further funding to explore how at a regional level we might influence policy to fund a sustainable programme based on the Art of Belonging for all young new arrivals. Beyond our case study sites, The Art of Belonging clearly has the potential to contribute towards more inclusive societies in Europe in the future particularly in relation to the context of continuing global forced migration. This relates to societal and economic impacts. In the long term there is scope for iterations of the Art of Belonging cultural citizenship programme being adapted to reflect the ways in which places change as a result of global and societal shifts. The project findings have furthered understanding of the ways in which young forced migrants experience extreme feelings of social isolation in their new cities in Europe and of how arts and cultural activities within key locations within that city can help them to build connections with the people already living in those spaces. The longer-term potential benefits of the project are multi-layered: • Enhanced wellbeing and mental health outcomes for young new arrivals will reduce demands on support services. • Increased social inclusion and participation in cultural activity will reduce safeguarding risks for new arrivals such as crime, gang recruitment and trafficking. • Recognition of skills and assets of new arrivals will support them to make a contribution to the social and economic activity within the city. • Societies will benefit from more cohesive communities based on mutual understanding, respect and tolerance and enhanced participation in cultural activity within public spaces • Greater understanding of the cost benefits of investing in early programmes of social inclusion for new arrivals, impacting future developments. • Individual localities will develop shared understanding of their specific place-specific cultural heritage and resource which will enhance a sense of belonging for all residents not just the newly arrived |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.theartofbelonging.net/ |
| Description | The Art of Belonging addresses the need to respond to the challenges of global forced migration and the impact on places within towns and cities. The project has brought together key stakeholders affected by this 'problem'. In Lund and Nottingham, the problem owners are municipality leaders with strategic oversight for support for the new arrivals and the communities in which they live. Together with cultural and arts leaders in the city and the research teams, the Art of Belonging project has, in each city, created 'different sectoral pathways' of strategic and operational response to the demands of social integration in urban spaces which work across scales- individual spaces within cities, the city as space, and cross-national spaces in the comparisons of knowledge generated in the case study sites in Sweden and England. Through working with the stakeholders on the design of the Cultural Rucksack programme for forced migrants, the project has co-created a sustainable model of social inclusion and place-making arts and cultural programming to support the integration of new arrivals to be adapted for future iterations in Lund and Nottingham and for other municipality leaders to work with in their own cities across Europe. The outcomes of the Art of Belonging project have been disseminated in various activities, in each of our case study cities there was a formal exhibition of the artefacts produced by the new arrivals along with explanations of the project. The Nottingham strand of the project culminated in The Art of Belonging exhibition (https://www.nae.org.uk/event/art-of-belonging/) at the New Art Exchange gallery in Nottingham. In Lund, the participants exhibited their work in the museum Kulturen (https://www.kulturen.com/utstallningar/konsten-att-hora-till/) . In each city the exhibition was accompanied by a launch event which also explained the rationale and findings from the project. Members of the public and key stakeholders attended the exhibitions and the launch. Feedback (through visitor books/ post card displays and informal comments) indicate that for some visitors this was their first opportunity to encounter what new arrivals in their city could contribute to the cultural landscape of their place. In Nottingham there was also been an event aimed at stakeholders from the arts and cultural sector, those working in communities to support new arrivals in the city, and representatives from the municipality. Further in Nottingham, the PI was invited to share the findings from the project at a Nottingham City Primary Parliament event which was aimed at supporting local schools to understand issues associated with forced migration in their localities in order to help them develop strategies for a more inclusive city for sanctuary seekers. We have presented the findings from the project at the Nottingham city's cultural-education partnership, ChalleNGe board and to a national Member of Parliament. The English national policy brief was shared with the Senior Policy Advisor in the Government Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The PI met with this Senior Policy Advisor to discuss the findings and to explore whether this could be rolled out to other cities in England. In the Swedish context the findings were presented in different arenas such as municipality representatives, teachers and school leaders working with newly arrivals. Teachers had workshops about how the ideas within the project could be presented for other groups of newly arrived. We also have presented the project findings at three international conferences: • HERA Final Conference 'Refugee Youth, Public Space and Artistic Practice' in response to theme 5 of the call: What role can cultural and arts initiatives play in the lives of refugee youth as spaces of belonging, and in promoting their sense of belonging in cities or urban neighbourhoods? (Amsterdam, June 2-3rd, 2022); • IMISCOE International Migration Research Network Conference: Migration and Time: Temporalities of Mobility, Governance, and Resistance (Oslo, June 29 - July 1, 2022); • European Conference for Educational Research (ECER) Education in a Changing World: The impact of global realities on the prospects and experiences of educational research, (Yerevan, August 23-26th 2022). A positive outcome of the project in each case study site has been the opportunity to engage with stakeholders both those working on the ground within specific community spaces, and cultural places and with those working at local and national policymaking in this area. A tangible change within Nottingham has been a commitment at the level of the ChalleNGe board to work to embed a Cultural Rucksack programme of arts and cultural activity for new arrivals (as demonstrated by a recent funding bid to the English Arts Council from the ChalleNGE board which included a focus on more Arts of Belonging programmes) and a desire by the Local Authority representative to secure funding to roll out a similar programme for more recent arrivals. To date there have been two further iterations of an Art of Belonging programme for newly arrived Ukrainians in the city. The PI's meeting with the UK national government senior policy advisor illustrated that there is potential synergy with the Government's commitment to investing in 'Pride and Belonging' as outlined in a recent government white paper. It is too early to comment on the potential impact of this, especially given the likelihood of a general election in the near future. In Lund the project established the visibility of the newly arrived group and informed the municipality how one can work with this group as a resource. What was established was that it is desirable for projects like the cultural programme for new arrivals to be sustainable. Engagement with the project provided the Lund Municipality with a resource for the municipality since the ideas within the projects actually deliver concrete pathways to establish a sense of belonging. The digital gallery can also be used as a resource for the municipality, showing the work being done and reaching out to other municipalities and by that building a network. Since publication of the final report, the artist leading the Swedish progamme of activity has secured follow on funding from Lund Municipality to run an Art of Belonging informed programme of arts activity for new arrivals called ArtsInclusive. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Impact on future planning for support for newly arrived young refugees in Nottingham |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Impact | This research has already had an impact on the future planning of support for newly arrived refugees in that it has demonstrated that arts and cultural organisations can play a significant role in promoting social integration amongst refugees and host communities. This has led to agreement that the enhanced Cultural Rucksack programme should be continued beyond the life of the project in order to break down some of the barriers identified during the research. |
| Description | University of Nottingham Faculty of Social Sciences Policy Support Fund. |
| Amount | £24,646 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Description | Art of Belonging |
| Organisation | Lund University |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Establishing the evidence base for the Art of Belonging work , development of theoretical framing and research tools for exploring the impact of the arts and cultural programme on young refugees in each city contexts, Case Study 1- the development of the Cultural Rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham as a resource for social belonging and integration, development of artefacts and resources, engagement and dissemination. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Nottingham City Council have supported aggregate costs of £400 per day - based on two identified staff - offering 15 days - so £6k . This comprises appropriate City Council attendance and senior representation at the project meetings with the Nottingham team and with those in Lund, involvement in the evolving design of the study and the roll out of learning from the project to develop a sustainable set of resources and knowledge to inform future activity and policy making around how arts and cultural institutions can work in partnership with refugee communities to facilitate greater models of social participation and integration. Lund University are leading on the Swedish elements of the research including the case study in Lund and the development of the Digital Art Gallery. They have liaised with their partners (the municipality and the artist) in Lund. New Art Exchange have contracted the artists and developed and managed the innovative Cultural Rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham. All partners have been involved in regular project meetings, developing the research materials and the theoretical framing, and the ongoing evaluations and discussions of findings identifying that which is context-specific and that which applies across contexts. |
| Impact | Report A for problem-owners identifying the enabling and challenging factors to young people, especially refugee asylum-seekers' participation in arts and cultural activities in the cities (Nottingham and Lund) Report B for problem owner (evaluating the cultural rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham) Report C for problem-owner (evaluating the cultural rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Lund) Submission of conference paper abstract to ECER (European Conference for Educational Research) (August 23-26th). Submission to IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) conference in Oslo (June 29 - July 1). Panel on 'Cultural and artistic organisations as spaces of belonging for young refugees and asylum-seekers'. Submitted abstract to HERA Final Conference 'Refugee Youth, Public Space and Artistic Practice' in response to theme 5 of the call: What role can cultural and arts initiatives play in the lives of refugee youth as spaces of belonging, and in promoting their sense of belonging in cities or urban neighbourhoods? (June 2-3rd) Art exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work held in Lund Art Gallery on 12th Feb 2022 UPDATE MARCH 2023 Art exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work held at Nottingham Arts Exchange 11th-25th June2022 Final Report September 2022 https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cracl/documents/art-of-belonging.pdf Conference presentations (as per submitted abstracts above) English national policy brief https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/policy-and-engagement/Documents/Policy-briefs/Policy-Brief-migrant-inclusion.pdf |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Art of Belonging |
| Organisation | New Art Exchange, Nottingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Establishing the evidence base for the Art of Belonging work , development of theoretical framing and research tools for exploring the impact of the arts and cultural programme on young refugees in each city contexts, Case Study 1- the development of the Cultural Rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham as a resource for social belonging and integration, development of artefacts and resources, engagement and dissemination. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Nottingham City Council have supported aggregate costs of £400 per day - based on two identified staff - offering 15 days - so £6k . This comprises appropriate City Council attendance and senior representation at the project meetings with the Nottingham team and with those in Lund, involvement in the evolving design of the study and the roll out of learning from the project to develop a sustainable set of resources and knowledge to inform future activity and policy making around how arts and cultural institutions can work in partnership with refugee communities to facilitate greater models of social participation and integration. Lund University are leading on the Swedish elements of the research including the case study in Lund and the development of the Digital Art Gallery. They have liaised with their partners (the municipality and the artist) in Lund. New Art Exchange have contracted the artists and developed and managed the innovative Cultural Rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham. All partners have been involved in regular project meetings, developing the research materials and the theoretical framing, and the ongoing evaluations and discussions of findings identifying that which is context-specific and that which applies across contexts. |
| Impact | Report A for problem-owners identifying the enabling and challenging factors to young people, especially refugee asylum-seekers' participation in arts and cultural activities in the cities (Nottingham and Lund) Report B for problem owner (evaluating the cultural rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham) Report C for problem-owner (evaluating the cultural rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Lund) Submission of conference paper abstract to ECER (European Conference for Educational Research) (August 23-26th). Submission to IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) conference in Oslo (June 29 - July 1). Panel on 'Cultural and artistic organisations as spaces of belonging for young refugees and asylum-seekers'. Submitted abstract to HERA Final Conference 'Refugee Youth, Public Space and Artistic Practice' in response to theme 5 of the call: What role can cultural and arts initiatives play in the lives of refugee youth as spaces of belonging, and in promoting their sense of belonging in cities or urban neighbourhoods? (June 2-3rd) Art exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work held in Lund Art Gallery on 12th Feb 2022 UPDATE MARCH 2023 Art exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work held at Nottingham Arts Exchange 11th-25th June2022 Final Report September 2022 https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cracl/documents/art-of-belonging.pdf Conference presentations (as per submitted abstracts above) English national policy brief https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/policy-and-engagement/Documents/Policy-briefs/Policy-Brief-migrant-inclusion.pdf |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Art of Belonging |
| Organisation | Nottingham City Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Establishing the evidence base for the Art of Belonging work , development of theoretical framing and research tools for exploring the impact of the arts and cultural programme on young refugees in each city contexts, Case Study 1- the development of the Cultural Rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham as a resource for social belonging and integration, development of artefacts and resources, engagement and dissemination. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Nottingham City Council have supported aggregate costs of £400 per day - based on two identified staff - offering 15 days - so £6k . This comprises appropriate City Council attendance and senior representation at the project meetings with the Nottingham team and with those in Lund, involvement in the evolving design of the study and the roll out of learning from the project to develop a sustainable set of resources and knowledge to inform future activity and policy making around how arts and cultural institutions can work in partnership with refugee communities to facilitate greater models of social participation and integration. Lund University are leading on the Swedish elements of the research including the case study in Lund and the development of the Digital Art Gallery. They have liaised with their partners (the municipality and the artist) in Lund. New Art Exchange have contracted the artists and developed and managed the innovative Cultural Rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham. All partners have been involved in regular project meetings, developing the research materials and the theoretical framing, and the ongoing evaluations and discussions of findings identifying that which is context-specific and that which applies across contexts. |
| Impact | Report A for problem-owners identifying the enabling and challenging factors to young people, especially refugee asylum-seekers' participation in arts and cultural activities in the cities (Nottingham and Lund) Report B for problem owner (evaluating the cultural rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Nottingham) Report C for problem-owner (evaluating the cultural rucksack programme for refugee and asylum-seekers in Lund) Submission of conference paper abstract to ECER (European Conference for Educational Research) (August 23-26th). Submission to IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) conference in Oslo (June 29 - July 1). Panel on 'Cultural and artistic organisations as spaces of belonging for young refugees and asylum-seekers'. Submitted abstract to HERA Final Conference 'Refugee Youth, Public Space and Artistic Practice' in response to theme 5 of the call: What role can cultural and arts initiatives play in the lives of refugee youth as spaces of belonging, and in promoting their sense of belonging in cities or urban neighbourhoods? (June 2-3rd) Art exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work held in Lund Art Gallery on 12th Feb 2022 UPDATE MARCH 2023 Art exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work held at Nottingham Arts Exchange 11th-25th June2022 Final Report September 2022 https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cracl/documents/art-of-belonging.pdf Conference presentations (as per submitted abstracts above) English national policy brief https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/policy-and-engagement/Documents/Policy-briefs/Policy-Brief-migrant-inclusion.pdf |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Art Exhibition of young refugee and asylum-seekers' art work at the New Art Exchange Gallery, Nottingha, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was an exhibition of the art work, co curated with the participants of their art work created during the arts and cultural programme of activity. The audience was the general public. The blurb for the exhibition was 'This vibrant exhibition showcases the art created by students from NEST (Nottingham Education Sanctuary Team), a full-time educational provision for asylum seeker and refugees aged 15-19 years. These young people, many of them unaccompanied children, have worked with artists and the city's cultural venues to consider what it is to 'belong' in a host city. What does it take to feel socially and culturally 'at home' and can the arts help in this process? As well as acquiring new art and design skills over 30 sessions, the participants have enlivened every workshop with their distinctive cultural contributions from Sudan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan and other countries.' Over 100 members of the public visited the exhibition over the three weeks it was on display and recorded their comments in a postcard display and the comments book. The comments reflected their appreciation of the opportunity to see the young people's art work as this gave them a better understanding of how refugees and asylum-seekers can contribute to the cultural life of the city. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.nae.org.uk/event/art-of-belonging/ |
| Description | Art exhibition - Lund |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An exibition was organised by a local artist to showcase the work of the young refugees and asylum seekers who are participating in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Art exhibition - Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An exhibition was organised at the New Art Exchange to showcase the work of the young refugees who participated in the project. (tbc). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Cultural activities programme - Nottingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | An on-going cultural activities programme for young refugees in Nottingham hosted by the New Art Exchange gallery. This involves gallery-based discusisons and workships with loal artists and visits to local artistic and cultural sites with the aim of introducing new arrivals to the cultural life of the city, to engage stakeholders and local people, and to explain the purpose of the project to other visitors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Dissemination event for Cultural Sector, Community groups supporting refugees, city council representatives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Around 40 people attended this dissemination event at the New Art Exchange on June 23rd 2022. The aim of the event was to showcase the findings from the research project and to engage the audience in next steps. There was overwhelming support for future iterations of an Art of Belonging project in the city. The next steps activity incorporated the participants adding post its to a series of questions that were pinned around the room. The content from those post its fed into both the project final report and the national policy brief. Following the event, a manager at the art gallery wrote to congratulate us on the success of the event saying that it was notable both for the numbers (who all stayed on after the finish time to continue the conversations) and for the numbers who attended. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meeting with local stakeholders (Nottingham) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Project Lead speaking to local stakeholders (representatives from arts organisations and local government responsible for programming activities for newly arrived refugees) to talk about leaning from the project to date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meetings with arts umbrella organisations (Lund) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with local arts unbrella organisations in Lund to see how the project could be extended there by incorporating the Cultural Rucksack into their cultural offering for newly arrived young refugees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meetings with arts umbrella organisations (Nottingham) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with representatives from local arts organisations, the challenge lead from Cultural Rucksack, and the local problem owner, to discuss ways of extending the Cultural Rucksack programme beyond the end of project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Primary Parliament |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The primary parliament event was on the 7th November. There were around 50-60 primary aged pupils present. The blurb for the event was as follows: 'This term we are focussing on themes around Nottingham's status as a City of Sanctuary. What does it mean for a city, schools and its citizens to create a place of welcome? What does this look and feel like? And how can we offer support for people arriving here? We'll be exploring the concepts of welcome, care, sanctuary and security from all angles, from the spaces we spend time in to the language we use, from the awareness we have of other people's idea of sanctuary to our connections with our own friends and families. I was invited to open the parliament by presenting findings from the Art of Belonging project to help the young people's developing understanding of the lives behind the headlines and to better understand what it means to seek sanctuary and also to empathise with the difficulties of building a life and a sense of belonging in a new place. My input was followed by an arts workshop with the artist who delivered the Art of Belonging arts and cultural programme. The day ended with the pupils sharing their own ideas for art which showcased their views on why they wanted Nottingham to be a place of sanctuary for refugees and asylum-seekers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |