Refugee Week 2023
This year, the UK celebrates Refugee Week from Monday 19th to Sunday 25th June. During Refugee Week, charities and voluntary organisations coordinate on a week of arts, cultural and sports events across the UK which aims to celebrate the contributions and talents of refugees, raise awareness of the asylum system, what refugees in the UK face, and to break down barriers and foster connections across different backgrounds.
JRS UK are excited to celebrate Refugee Week. In addition to an internal celebration day for our refugee friends, we’re taking part in several public events which you are warmly invited to join us for.
“You can see me, but I don’t exist”
In 2022, refugee friends from JRS UK worked with poet Laila Sumpton to write a collection of poetry for the ‘Limbo’ project. These poems, and others written by refugees living in Birmingham and Manchester, have been collected and will be displayed alongside an exhibition of photographs by Alan Gignoux.
The exhibition will be on display at Stratford Library, London from Monday 19th June to Saturday 1st July 2023. It speaks powerfully to the extended periods of uncertainty refugee friends face whilst waiting to hear on their asylum cases, and the hostility asylum seekers face. The refugee voice and experience is made central in the poetry, in stark contrast to the photography where faces are blurred and unclear, a visual representation of how our policies and asylum system dehumanises and marginalises people, and the erosion of self many people feel.
Visit the exhibition:
You can see me, but I don’t exist
Monday 19th June – Saturday 1st July 2023
Stratford Library, 3 The Grove, London, E15 1EL
FREE
Visit Gignoux Photos for more information about the exhibit
Join JRS for the launch of the exhibit:
Refugee friends will join Alan Gignoux for the launch of the exhibit at Stratford Library and will perform readings of the poems.
Stratford Library – Launch evening
Monday 19th June, 6.30-8.30pm
Stratford Library, 3 The Grove, London, E15 1EL
Book a (free) ticket to attend the launch with JRS
Join JRS for the Exhibition-in-a-Book Launch:
Refugee friends will be taking part in performances and readings of their poetry and Alan Gignoux will introduce his exihibit. Copies of the exhibition book will be available for sale at the event to support the project, and readings will be followed by a performance of traditional Zimbabwean music and more celebrations and drinks in the bar.
The Photographer’s Gallery in Oxford Circus, London.
Friday 23rd June, 6.00-8.00pm
The Photographer’s Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW
Join Laila Sumpton, poet and volunteer at JRS, for a Poetry Workshop and Exhibition Exploration:
Saturday 24th June 2-4pm
Stratford Library, 3 The Grove, London, E15 1EL
FREE
You may also be interested in:
In celebration of World Poetry Day 2023 – In March, Dallya Alhorri, Refugee Activity Coordinator, told us about a collection of poetry written by refugee friends during the pandemic.
Order Home is a feeling not a place – The first published work of JRS UK’s Open Writing Space, featuring poetry and prose written by eight refugees and asylum seekers.
Refugee Week 2023 – See what other events are on across the country.
