Refugees and asylum seekers are all too often seen through the narrow prism of their experiences of displacement, but this is only one part of the picture. Refugee artists and their community partners challenge those limits daily through storytelling, creative space-making, and movement organising. Natasha Menon and Sarah Doyel, two International Migration and Public Policy master’s students at LSE, talk to two advocates about the role of art in refugee advocacy work. Usman Khalid and Emily Churchill-Zaraa discuss why storytelling matters, how Refugee Week is a movement rather than a moment, and the ways in which we can all act in solidarity with refugees daily. Pour yourself a cup of coffee (or tea) and join the conversation. 

 

Emily Churchill-Zaraa is the Coordinator of Refugee Week, an arts and cultural festival celebrating the contributions of refugees. This year the festival is being held 14 to 20 June. Refugee Week UK is a partnership project coordinated by Counterpoints Arts, which is a charity that supports and promotes the arts by and about refugees and migrants. 

 

Usman Khalid is the founder and director of HAVEN Coffee. Founded in February 2019, HAVEN Coffee is a social enterprise serving ethically sourced, fair-trade, organic cups of specialty coffee with a social mission of breaking the false narratives about refugees in society.  

 

Purchase tickets to the Laff-Uccino comedy event with HAVEN Coffee on 19 June here: https://refugeeweek.org.uk/events/laff-uccino-2/ 

 

Learn more about HAVEN Coffee on their website: https://www.havencoffee.co.uk/ 

Follow HAVEN Coffee on Instagram and Twitter @haven_coffee and on Facebook @havencoffeeuk. 

 

Find out more about Counterpoints Arts on their website: https://counterpointsarts.org.uk/