care project

In 2024-25 we were a partner on a project called Home city spaces of care: exploring networks of solidarity and belonging for refugees and asylum seekers in London. This research project, funded by British Academy/Wolfson Fellowship and led by social and cultural geographer Dr Olivia Sheringham from Birkbeck University involved partnering with refugee arts charity Stories and Supper to deliver a creative project exploring care.

Working with refugees and people seeking asylum, the project was designed to explore different ways of understanding and practising ‘care’ in the context of hostile immigration policies and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Through a series of creative workshops and a 2 night residential we used storytelling, drama, mapping, zine-making and textiles to explore what care, home and belonging means for people who have lived experience of the UK’s asylum system and how we might imagine more caring and care-full futures shaped by solidarity and connection.

Ultimately the project aimed to develop fuller understandings of the experiences, practices and knowledge of care for refugees and people seeking asylum in London. Through creating resources and new knowledge about care, home and belonging, it sought to challenge negative narratives surrounding refugees and migrants in the UK and to foster solidarity and welcome.

To find out more about this project, listen to our podcast interview below. We also have a short book and short film about the project coming soon.

Photography by Rebekka Hölze