Art of Belonging

---

Art of Belonging first started as a funded research project led by Joanna McIntyre exploring the role of arts and culture in fostering a sense of belonging for young asylum-seekers and refugees in Nottingham, England and Lund, Sweden. The project ran from March 2021 to September 2022, and culminated in an exhibition at New Art Exchange: the final report can be read here.  

Since the research project concluded, Art of Belonging has been adopted by the wider arts, cultural and refugee communities in Nottingham, and the work that we do has been extended to support people of all ages who are migrants. Given the vibrancy of the sector in the region, we are committed to nurturing a network of artists, arts organisations, venues, and refugee agencies who provide and produce creative and cultural opportunities to the refugee community. 

We seek to guide, support and platform the development of refugee arts and culture in the Nottingham area and to advocate for this work across all sectors and communities.

One of the commitments within the pledge is to collaboratively work together and share learning about good practice.  To this end, on 26th June 2024, individual freelancers and creatives came together at Nottingham Contemporary to share knowledge and skills, and explore approaches when planning and delivering creative sessions with refugees and asylum seekers.  

Feedback from participants: 

“I am really excited to have a network of practitioners I am able to contact in the future, as we look for people to help in our sessions. This is an invaluable resource”.

“I enjoyed the diverse range of activities and learnt a lot about holding space and considerations for supporting and working creatively with this demographic."

“It was useful to have space to make, think, talk with others." 

If you are interested in joining our mailing list to hear about future events, contact cathy@challengenottingham.co.uk. 

To get involved in Nottingham Refugee Week contact nottinghamrefugeeweek@gmail.com