Can you help us change perceptions towards refugees and migrants?

The Open University and Counterpoint Arts have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to bring the issues facing migrants and refugees in the UK to the fore.

The campaign will raise funds for Who are we?, a free week-long public programme of art installations, Learning Labs, workshops and events organised by a consortium of partners and taking place 22-27 May 2018 at Tate Exchange at Tate Modern.

The event is open to the public and will bring together artists, including refugees and migrants, featuring visual arts, film and photography, design and architecture, digital cultures, the spoken and written word and Live Art. The event is underpinned by the idea of helping to create stronger ideas of ‘togetherness’ through conversation, interaction and exchange.

The campaign has a £3,000 target, and funds raised will help more artists and practitioners, many of them from migrant and refugee backgrounds, to contribute to the debate through the week-long programme which the public are invited to engage and participate.

The team behind the event (which has many collaborators, including Stance Podcast and the University of York Migration Network ) have secured a number of ‘thank yous’ for those donating to the campaign. These include everything from a 30-minute conversation with an artist about their piece at the event for a donation of £25, to a day with Rachel Ashton and a conversation with Gaza strip artist, May Murad, as part of the Walking without Walls project at Deveron Projects for a donation of £350, and lots of other items in between.

For more information, see the crowdfunding page, Who are we?.

The reality and challenges of migration is a topic The Open University is working to raise awareness of, and has named 2018 its Year of ‘Mygration’. As part of this, every day the University is sharing interesting insight, experiences and debates from its academics, students and partners. The University is also supporting #refugeeweek 18-22 June, with an engaging programme of pop-up workshops, seminars and art exhibitions planned, follow us on Twitter and sign up to our monthly e-newsletter for more on this and our work in this area.

Photo: 'Gil Mualem Doron The New Union Flag' at Who are we? 2017 at Tate Exchange.