Belonging: Voices of London’s Refugees

26 June 2006

A new exhibition revealing the experiences and contributions of refugees in the capital opens at the Museum of London on 27 October 2006 and will be on display until 25 February 2007.

Belonging press pack (PDF 475kbP

Belonging: voices of London’s refugees presents powerful interviews, photographs, objects, art, and film to tell the personal stories of why refugees come to London, the challenges of their new lives, the barriers they face, and the immeasurable contributions they make to the city.  People from more than fifteen communities are included – from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Latin America. 

The voices of refugees are at the heart of the exhibition – powerful, moving, sometimes humorous, always inspiring.  What it is like to be forced to leave your country?  How do you build a new life in exile?  And how on earth do you get a grip on London?

The exhibition explores the importance of family, the role of community and culture, perceptions of London, challenges and achievements, and ideas about home and belonging.

All visitors will find themselves questioning their assumptions about refugees and leaving with a new understanding about who refugees are and how they help to shape the city.  Visitors who are or have themselves been refugees will also find much to be proud of, while their children will learn more about the experiences and cultures of older generations.

The Museum of London has worked in partnership with the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, London Metropolitan University and fifteen refugee community organisations to collect more than 150 extraordinary in-depth life story interviews and to create this exhibition.

Belonging also features work created through collaborations between local museums and community organisations as part of the London Museums Hub Refugee Heritage Programme.  These are complemented by some of the Museum’s earliest audio recorded interviews, with Jewish refugees who arrived from eastern Europe in the late nineteenth century. 

Some of the evocative items which, together with the personal stories, bring home experiences of loss and struggle, and of finding one’s feet and making a difference in London include:

• A blanket from Ethiopia that provided comfort for its owner when he had to sleep at Heathrow on his first night in London;
• Paintings by an artist from Ecuador who was transfixed by red telephone boxes;
• An award won by a Tamil local councillor for combating anti-social behaviour;
• Stunning images of people at work – a hairdresser, a restaurateur, a scientist, among others.

Professor Jack Lohman, director of the Museum of London, said:

“This exhibition provides a space where the voices of London's refugees can be heard.  It acknowledges the contributions they make to every aspect of the capital while showing the challenges they face in creating a new life here.

"As the repository of London's stories, it is crucial that the Museum of London works in partnership to put on exhibitions which reflect the multicultural city we live in.  Belonging does just this, drawing together people from many different backgrounds to reflect on how their lives have been influenced by London and how, in turn, they have helped to shape the city we know today."

Tzeggai Yohannes Deres, director of the Evelyn Oldfield Unit and one of the people featured in the exhibition added:

"When I arrived in London in 1986 from war torn Eritrea, my dreams were big, my expectations were low - I only wanted to be safe.  After over twenty years I have built up a whole second life.  Like many refugees, I've worked in the community, the public, the voluntary and in business sectors. 

"After my first visit to Eritrea, I realised that my identity is made up of many different facets, but more than anything I feel and think I am a Londoner. This is where I belong.  The exhibition is so important because it will allow us to share our experiences with the general British society and show our contribution to the prosperity and diversity of London."

Belonging: Voices of London’s Refugees
27 October 2006 to 25 February 2007
Museum of London
Admission free
Open Mon-Sat 10am to 5:50pm and Sun 12 to 5:50pm
Tube: St Paul’s, Barbican and Moorgate
www.museumoflondon.org.uk for more information and related events

Notes to Editors

• For press enquiries please contact Clea Relly on 020 7814 5503 / 020 7814 5607 or e-mail crelly@museumoflondon.org.uk
• The Museum of London is the only museum to tell the story of London from pre-historic times to 1914. Find out what Romans ate for dinner, experience the Great Fire of London, find out when pointy shoes first became fashionable, go window-shopping in our Victorian walkway and be amazed by the magnificent Lord Mayor’s coach. Admission is free. To hear about our exciting events programme and start exploring London’s history and the histories of Londoners visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk or call 0870 444 3851.
• In February 2007 the Museum of London will begin an £18 million initiative to redevelop the galleries which tell the story of London from 1666 up to today. The Capital City project will also include a new learning centre, an information zone, a coffee point and a lecture theatre, which will open on early 2009. There will be 25% more gallery space, 60% more objects on display and a new glass frontage overlooking London Wall. For more information, including about how to support the campaign by “buying a year of London’s history” and becoming part of the new display see www.museumoflondon.org.uk/buyayear or call 020 7814 5505.
• The Refugee Communities History Project is led by the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, with partners including the Museum of London, London Metropolitan University, the Resource Unit for Mother Tongue and Supplementary Schools and fifteen refugee community organisations. This groundbreaking project is collecting, archiving and disseminating more than 150 in-depth life story interviews with people who came to London as refugees in the period since 1951, together with photographs, objects and other items. The interviews are being undertaken by 15 fieldworkers from the communities and each community organisation is organising it own local exhibition. Belonging is the final element of the project, bringing together all of the material collected. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Trust for London. Go to www.refugeestories.org to hear extracts from the collection.
• The Refugee Heritage Programme involves four London museums (Hackney Museum, Croydon Clock Tower Museum, Ragged School Museum and Redbridge Museum) working collectively with local refugee communities and individuals to record their own heritage through short films, exhibitions, cultural events and celebrations. The projects give a unique and rich flavour of their living heritage while exploring the role museums as cultural facilitators and public forum. It is supported by the London Museums Hub, which is funded by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund through the ‘Moving Here’ programme at The National Archives.
• The exhibition is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Library and Archives Council, the Trust for London, and the Home Office.
• The 15 refugee community organisations or partnerships participating in the Refugee Communities History Project are: Afghan Association of London;  African Community Health and Research Organisation, with the two Cultural Group;  Bosnian Resource Information Centre Kosovar Support;  Chinese Information and Advice Centre;  Council for Assisting Refugee Academics;  Eritrean Education and Publication Trust;  Ethiopian Community in Britain;  Haringey Somali Community and Cultural Association;  Imece Turkish Speaking Women’s Group;  Iraqi Community Association;  Kurdish Association; Latin American Association;  Latin American Women’s Rights Service, with Latin American Disabled People’s Project and Latin American Elderly People’s Project;  Roma Support Group;  Tamil Relief Centre.
• The 4 partnerships working on the London Museums Hub Refugee Heritage Programme are: Croydon Museum, with Nile Volunteers Network and Yes Africa; Hackney Museum, with people from the Kurdish community and Halkevi Kurdish-Turkish Community Centre; Ragged School Museum, with Ocean Somali Community Association; Redbridge Museum, with ARIANA, an Afghan organisation.