Welcome Project

Welcome Project

This exhibition shows some of the work created by participants in our ‘Welcome Project’, which ran from June - November 2023.

The impetus for the project was the hostile rhetoric, environment, and policies migrants are facing and our intention to send instead a welcome message to migrants. Over several workshops, we came together to discuss and use photography, creative writing, and drama to explore what welcome means to us. We came to the UK from many different countries at different times and had very different migration journeys.

The resulting work, some of which is shared here, is personal and meaningful. It shows some of what welcome (and unwelcome) has felt like for the individuals. Through this work, you can see recommendations for what would be a better welcome and treatment of those, who come to make the UK their new home.

"This doormat is placed in front of my flat. Every time I arrive home, I feel welcomed. It is a representation of the saying, ‘Home Sweet Home.’ Seeing the house with the heart drawn on the mat is meaningful to me. It makes me feel homesick, although this is home now." (Image and caption by Pham Long).

"Organized shelves: there is nothing more inviting than cleanliness and organization. The shop that I passed by seems own its identity. In British streets you can be attracted to a shop of of its own Asian imprint. The shop gives a background of its organized culture." (Image and caption by Doaa Khalifeh).

Banner image by Abdulrahman Ali.