Arts and culture play a powerful role in helping people settle into new environments, nurturing communities and building a country where everyone feels welcome, included and able to lead rich and fulfilling lives.  

We work with professional and emerging artists, support community and participatory arts projects, and work in partnership with arts and cultural organisations to support wider access to arts and culture and greater representation of artists from refugee backgrounds. 

Creating new stories to tell about ourselves

For individuals – arts activities provide a means of communication that overcomes language barriers, builds skills and confidence and creates opportunities for friendships and shared endeavour. 

For communities – shared activity and shared creative endeavour promotes integration and can build understanding among communities.

For Scotland – artists from refugee communities play a huge role in enriching Scotland’s cultural output.

All of our arts and culture work is rooted in our principles of working with and alongside people with refugee experience to support individuals and communities.

What we do

We advocate for the cultural rights of refugees and asylum seekers, where the right to creative expression, the right to participate in cultural life and the right to earn a living from artistic and cultural pursuits is widely recognised and supported across society. 

We amplify and empower the voices of artists and cultural practitioners with lived experience of seeking refugee protection, and whose work is helping shape the changing cultural landscape of Scotland. 

We nurture the development and visibility of artists and cultural practitioners with lived experience of seeking refugee protection by collaboratively programming and producing multi-disciplinary art work.

We listen to and respect the experiences of artists and cultural practitioners who have sought refugee protection in Scotland.

We celebrate the creative contributions that refugee communities make to life in Scotland.

Find out more

To find out more about our arts work contact Soizig Carey using our contact us form.