Online resource launched for organisations working with refugees

The University of Sussex has launched an online resource to support museums, galleries and other cultural or academic institutions that are working with refugees, asylum seekers and forcibly displaced individuals.

Refuge: Codifying Refugee Participation, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), offers practical advice for organisations involved in this work.

The project draws on research from the University of Sussex to explore how civic and cultural institutions can foster meaningful participation, voice and recognition in a context where official support is shrinking. 

“As institutions across the UK seek to develop meaningful participatory work with forcibly displaced people, we need to confront the uncomfortable truth that the sector itself is often structurally exclusive,” says project lead Rob Sharp, an assistant professor in media and cultural studies at the University of Sussex. 

“The guidance and case studies collected here are not a definitive solution, but a first step in thinking how cultural organisations can build trust, support and recognition within these communities.

"Central to this is a commitment to listening carefully, sharing power, and ensuring that lived experience is not tokenised but meaningfully integrated into decision-making. These guidelines are not just about best practice, but opening up a space for continued reflection, critique and collaboration.”

The Refuge website includes resources developed through two workshops held in Manchester and London with cultural professionals, academics, and individuals with lived experience of displacement, project managers, curators and community engagement teams.

Case studies include the Whitworth in Manchester; North East Museums (formerly Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums); and Oxford University Gardens, Libraries and Museums.

The ultimate aim of the project is to synthesise experiences, recommendations and reflections from cultural organisations across the UK, and to share best practices for cultural institutions engaging in participatory work.