Why we’re celebrating sanctuary
By Lauren Iredale, Artworks Director
This week is Celebrating Sanctuary Week (19 – 25 April), an opportunity to celebrate the positive contribution that people seeking sanctuary have made to our communities. This year, the week looks a little different as COVID-19 restrictions mean that events can only take place online. Nevertheless, we wanted to take the opportunity to share why we think it’s so important.
What is Celebrating Sanctuary?
Celebrating Sanctuary is a week dedicated to those seeking sanctuary in the UK. It is arranged by City of Sanctuary who hold the vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution. The week is an opportunity for organisations large and small to show their support for sanctuary and share positive stories of welcome offered to people seeking sanctuary across communities in all parts of the UK.
Why are we taking part?
Artworks is known as the ‘The Everybody School of Art’ due to its ethos of being open to all regardless of a person’s age, background or ability. We believe that opportunity and engagement with art can make things better for everyone and should be available to all – and much of our work is centred around supporting people who experience barriers to access and engage in, with or through art.
For us, it’s important to mark the Celebrating Sanctuary Week to really demonstrate our commitment to this ethos, highlight the work we do to welcome people seeking sanctuary and lend our voice to advocate for people fleeing violence and persecution.
How do we celebrate sanctuary?
We work with partners across Calderdale and beyond to enable those seeking sanctuary to engage with art and join a creative community.
We are a member of Valley of Sanctuary, part of the city of sanctuary movement. As a group we are working to make Calderdale a place of safety for refugees seeking sanctuary from war and persecution and celebrate asylum seekers and refugees contributions to our beautiful borough.
Some of the projects we’ve delivered include:
Here I am – an online exhibition to celebrate the creativity and diversity of the people of Calderdale, celebrate refugee week and mark Calderdale becoming becoming a Valley of Sanctuary - in partnership with Northern Broadsides, SBC theatre and the Piece Hall
Creative Conversations - a project using art to support conversations for those learning English – in partnership with Calderdale College
Arte Libre - a year-long project culminating in an exhibition in partnership with St Augustines and Refugee Week
We’ve also delivered work as part of Calderdale Council and Calderdale Foundation for Calderdale’s Support and Integration Fund – a programme that provides free spaces on our courses and workshops for refugees and asylum seekers living in Calderdale to promote integration between Halifax’s existing community and its newest members.
Due to the pandemic our doors have been closed for much of the last 12 months, but we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to bring much of our usual programme of activity online. That said, many people seeking sanctuary may not be able to easily access the internet, so we’ve also been working with partners to identify how we can get hard copy materials out to members of the community who are unable to go online.
Over Christmas we delivered over 100 home learning activity packs to refugee and asylum seeker children with the support of Light Up Black and African Heritage, Sisters United, Together We Grow and St Augustines.
Looking forward
We’re currently planning how we can open back up our art school safely. A recent successful funding bid from the Culture Recovery Fund will help us to get back on our feet and continue to support communities in Calderdale, particularly those that have been most deeply affected by the pandemic. Continuing our work with refugees and asylum seekers will be a key priority as we open our doors back up.
To learn more about Celebrating Sanctuary Week, visit the City of Sanctuary website.