Listening to the voices of refugee artists: opportunities and barriers for performing arts practices carried out by refugee artists in the UK
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Arts Languages and Cultures
Abstract
The PhD research project, "Listening to the voices of refugee artists: opportunities and barriers for performing arts practices carried out by refugee artists in the UK" will explore the following research questions:
1. How do refugee heritage artists experience and navigate cultural and creative practices in the UK?
a. What, if any, effect does their legal status have on the work they make and the ways they think about and understand their work?
b. What opportunities are available and what are the barriers for refugee heritage artists who want to develop their work?
2. What is the range, scope and ambition of performing arts practices carried out by refugee heritage artists in the UK?
a. How do refugee heritage artists understand and articulate their practice in relation to their experiences of making art in the UK?
b. How do refugee heritage artists understand and communicate their work when the very terminologies used to discuss it are difficult and contested?
The study is commencing in the midst of a global health crisis brought about by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In addition to this, Britain is in the process of leaving the European Union. Both the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit have an effect on artists, the arts infrastructure and art practices. Therefore, in addition to the two main research questions, the study will also ask:
Q3a. What impact has Covid-19 and Brexit had on refugee heritage artists, their arts practice and on the related arts infrastructure?
b. What does "no one left behind" mean in relation to (or for) refugee heritage artists, their ability to access artist development and other support and continue their arts practice?
I will look at three performing arts practice areas: theatre, music, and spoken word, and will identify refugee heritage artists working in these areas and explore the research questions with them through formal and informal conversations and through structured and semi-structured interviews. I will also explore the questions with designers and beneficiaries of interventions that aim to create platforms for refugee heritage artists, where these are identifiable. And I will explore the questions through observation in spaces where interventions are being discussed, organised, enacted or implemented, and will look at, explore, listen to, read, review and engage with the work of refugee heritage artists who are, or have been, producing in these practice areas.
The study will focus on contemporary artists. To recruit research participants, I will draw on pre-existing contacts and networks like Community Action North West (CAN), Platforma, Counterpoints Arts, ArtReach, the City of Sanctuary movement, groups in the Theatre of Sanctuary movement, theatre groups that work with people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, musicians, street choirs, migrant and refugee rights groups, and poets and spoken word artists. Using snowball sampling, the contacts will also be asked to suggest others who can be approached and asked to participate in the study.
I will work with a focus group made up of refugee heritage artists based in Greater Manchester as well as draw on artists based in or working in the wider North West, the Midlands and London and on how refugee heritage artists have been giving presentations and performances at conferences, symposia and seminars that bring together academics, artists, and communities.
The study will build on academic work that has studied barriers into employment faced by people from refugee backgrounds combining this with an exploration of the connection between theatre, music, poetry and forced migration. Expected outcomes include a PhD thesis; journal articles; and conference papers. There could also be a photo exhibition or short video documentary focusing on the artists, the work they are doing, and what they think of and how they manage or navigate the opportunities and barriers they meet in their practice areas.
1. How do refugee heritage artists experience and navigate cultural and creative practices in the UK?
a. What, if any, effect does their legal status have on the work they make and the ways they think about and understand their work?
b. What opportunities are available and what are the barriers for refugee heritage artists who want to develop their work?
2. What is the range, scope and ambition of performing arts practices carried out by refugee heritage artists in the UK?
a. How do refugee heritage artists understand and articulate their practice in relation to their experiences of making art in the UK?
b. How do refugee heritage artists understand and communicate their work when the very terminologies used to discuss it are difficult and contested?
The study is commencing in the midst of a global health crisis brought about by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In addition to this, Britain is in the process of leaving the European Union. Both the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit have an effect on artists, the arts infrastructure and art practices. Therefore, in addition to the two main research questions, the study will also ask:
Q3a. What impact has Covid-19 and Brexit had on refugee heritage artists, their arts practice and on the related arts infrastructure?
b. What does "no one left behind" mean in relation to (or for) refugee heritage artists, their ability to access artist development and other support and continue their arts practice?
I will look at three performing arts practice areas: theatre, music, and spoken word, and will identify refugee heritage artists working in these areas and explore the research questions with them through formal and informal conversations and through structured and semi-structured interviews. I will also explore the questions with designers and beneficiaries of interventions that aim to create platforms for refugee heritage artists, where these are identifiable. And I will explore the questions through observation in spaces where interventions are being discussed, organised, enacted or implemented, and will look at, explore, listen to, read, review and engage with the work of refugee heritage artists who are, or have been, producing in these practice areas.
The study will focus on contemporary artists. To recruit research participants, I will draw on pre-existing contacts and networks like Community Action North West (CAN), Platforma, Counterpoints Arts, ArtReach, the City of Sanctuary movement, groups in the Theatre of Sanctuary movement, theatre groups that work with people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, musicians, street choirs, migrant and refugee rights groups, and poets and spoken word artists. Using snowball sampling, the contacts will also be asked to suggest others who can be approached and asked to participate in the study.
I will work with a focus group made up of refugee heritage artists based in Greater Manchester as well as draw on artists based in or working in the wider North West, the Midlands and London and on how refugee heritage artists have been giving presentations and performances at conferences, symposia and seminars that bring together academics, artists, and communities.
The study will build on academic work that has studied barriers into employment faced by people from refugee backgrounds combining this with an exploration of the connection between theatre, music, poetry and forced migration. Expected outcomes include a PhD thesis; journal articles; and conference papers. There could also be a photo exhibition or short video documentary focusing on the artists, the work they are doing, and what they think of and how they manage or navigate the opportunities and barriers they meet in their practice areas.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Alison Jeffers (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Ambrose Musiyiwa (Student) |