Joint exhibition by UWE students and Bristol Refugee Artists Collective celebrates its sixth year

Media Relations Team, 08 December 2023

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artists in a studio surrounding a white box on a table, which is part of a project. one of the artists is bending down and peering into the box through a small square cut into its side.

A Bristol-based refugee arts collective and UWE Bristol students are celebrating their sixth year of collaboration with the launch of a new exhibition at Centrespace Gallery.

Open from 8-13 December, ‘Compassion and Belonging’ brings together work produced by UWE Bristol Art and Design Foundation students and members of Bristol Refugee Artists Collective (BRAC), a collective of Bristol-based artists who are refugees and asylum seekers from around the world including India, Sudan, and Afghanistan.

The exhibition will feature a range of mediums, including photography, linocut and digital painting, and are the results of collaboration between artists and students at workshops held during 2023's Bristol Refugee Festival.

This partnership is one of many for BRAC, who seek to empower its members through cultural exchange with artistic communities in Bristol and advocate for the power of art as a force for unity, self-expression, and learning. Since the first exhibition, called ‘Generations’, in 2019, UWE Bristol students have benefitted from the experience of creative working, exploring the links between academic study and real-life learning.

Ben Glatt, an organiser with BRAC, said:

“Compassion and belonging – two things we need more of in the world. We are so grateful to UWE for all their support over the years to enable students and refugees to exchange ideas, feelings and bring about mutual understanding.”

Mian Ng, Global Partnerships Lead at UWE Bristol, said:

"For the sixth year running, the rich collaboration between BRAC artists and UWE Bristol students has provided a platform to discuss local and global issues, such as migration and sustainability, through creative practice.

Not only is this a valuable opportunity for our students to work with and learn from established artists from around the world, but it is also a celebration of our local communities and their talent and creativity. We look forward to continuing this collaboration into its seventh year.”

Further details of the exhibition can be found on the Centrespace Gallery website.

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