A selection of the in person and ‘hybrid’ events taking place across the UK for Refugee Week 2021. For full listings, visit the Events Calendar.

Refugee Week 2021: We Cannot Walk Alone
V&A with Counterpoints Arts
14-20 June, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Photography, Visual art, Workshops, Talks
V&A’s week-long programme includes ‘We Cannot Walk Alone’, a new portrait series by acclaimed photographer Misan Harriman, commissioned by Counterpoints Arts for Refugee Week 2021, online digital Islamic painting workshops and an online talk about LGBTQ+ refugees who trailblazers in the arts.

Lighting Up Norwich Castle
Norwich City of Sanctuary
11-13 June
Norwich Castle will be lit up by an orange heart featuring the faces of supporters in Norwich, in support of the new Together for Refugees coalition calling for a better approach to supporting refugees that is kinder, fairer and more effective. The projection will feature selfies and photos faces of local supporters.

The Kent Fish & Chips Project
Counterpoints Arts with Turner Contemporary and Canterbury Cathedral
9 June–26 September, Turner Contemporary, Margate
Visual art
Fish & Chips can be traced back to Huguenot and Jewish arrivals in the UK and people from all over the world continue to be central to the farming and fishing industries and the high street shops. This new project from reportage artist Olivier Kugler and writer Andrew Humphreys explores the history and present-day reality of Fish and Chip shops in the UK, exploring everyday stories of migration connected to Kent’s most celebrated high street food.

Horizons Festival on the Bruntwood Stage: Solidarity Social
HOME and CAN
12 June 12pm – 7pm, Bruntwood Stage at Homeground, Manchester
Music, Spoken word
Launching Horizons Festival 2021, HOME and CAN invite you to celebrate the enduring power of creativity and the incredible international artists who have made Manchester their home. international music and spoken word from some of Manchester’s newest artists and communities. With sounds from the Asian, African and Latin American diaspora, plus DJ sets, spoken word and short calls to action.

Making and Breaking Bread Together: Recipes
Unity Bakery
12 June, 10am – 2pm, Sneinton Market, Nottingham
Food
Sample tasty global bread selections and talk to community bakers who will share their recipes. Pick up an ingredients pack to make your bread of choice at home. Recipe cards provided in English or Arabic. Part of Nottingham Refugee Week.

Bristol Refugee Festival – Open Air Magic Show!
Jacari Bristol and Magic for Smiles
12 June, 2pm – 3pm, Felix Road Adventure Playground, Easton
Family event
An open-air magic show with magician, Jamie Jibberish, from Magic for Smiles, who will be performing his captivating tricks, plus plenty of music, and dancing. Part of Bristol Refugee Festival, and run by Jacari.

No Direction Home
Coventry Welcomes with Counterpoints Arts
14 June, 7pm, The Box @ Fargo Village, Coventry
Comedy
Stand-up night hosted by Coventry-born comedian Stella Graham, supported by Yuriko Kontani, Edin Suljic, Yasmin Moradi and headlined by Shappi Korsandi, one of the country’s finest comedians. No Direction Home is a comedy project created by Camden People’s Theatre, Counterpoints Arts, and award-winning comedian Tom Parry, which offers support to aspiring comics from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Part of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021.

Refugee Week in Croydon
14-20 June
Sport, Music, Dance, Family event
A fun packed week of activities to celebrate Refugee Week in Croydon will culminate in a festival of sport in Norbury Park. Includes football, dance, yoga, boxing, drumming and sailing.

Listen to the World
St Ethelburga’s Centre with Counterpoints Arts
15 June, 6.30pm-8pm, St. Ethelburga’s Centre, London
Music
An evening with Scottish Nigerian singer-songwriter Bumi Thomas and vocalist and kerar player Ibrahim Fanous to mark Refugee Week and launch ‘Listen to the World’ – a place where the musical traditions and talents of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers find a home among local artists. This is a hybrid event – join online or in person at St Ethelburga’s Centre.

Sit With Us
Mafwa Theatre
14-20 June, 12pm – 6.45pm, Convention House, Leeds
Installation, Walks
An interactive art installation where women from different migration backgrounds invite you to sit, make yourself comfortable and listen. Features printed textiles, filmed monologues and invitations to take yourself on guided ‘soundwalks’ around the local area.

Curious Caravan
Curious Monkey
15-16 June, 11am – 4pm, The Comfrey Project, Gateshead
Community
Join the Curious Monkey’s colourful caravan for a cuppa, cake and a chat. You can book a 40-minute slot for up to six people at a table outside the caravan. You will be served a free tea, coffee or cold drink and something sweet. One of the friendly Curious Monkey team will join you to share some stories.

Refugee Women photography exhibition
Refugee Resource
16 June – 20 July, The Old Fire Station, Oxford
Photography
A photography exhibition of refugee women in Oxford by Photographer Philippa James.

London Migration Film Festival
Migration Collective
17-23 June, Genesis Cinema, London
Film
The London Migration Film Festival returns for its fifth edition, with screenings both in cinemas and online. The programme includes fiction, short and documentary films focusing on the intersection of migration with themes such as immobility, parenthood, race and gender.

DJ Sets
Southbank Centre with Counterpoints Arts
18 June 5pm and 19 June 2pm, Southbank Centre, London
Music
Celebrate Refugee Week with two days of performances from DJs Erica Mckoy, Raheel Khan, Sahila on Friday and KMT Freedom Teachers on Saturday. In collaboration with Counterpoints Arts.

Laff-Ucino
HAVEN Coffee
19 June, 7.30pm – 10.30pm, 21 Soho, London
Comedy
HAVEN Coffee presents the third instalment of their comedy gig Laff-Uccino for Refugee Week 2021. Headliners Suzi Ruffell and Alfie Brown are joined by new comics from refugee and migrant backgrounds for a night of live stand-up.

Two walks
Museum of London
19 & 26 June, Spitalfields and Dalston, London
Walks, Heritage

19 June, 11am – 3pm: Craftsmanship in the city: walking with the Huguenots: a walk with Huguenots of Spitalfields guide Neil Sinclair before coming back to the museum to see pieces from the collection.26 June, 11am – 1.30pm: Seeking home: wandering Dalston: Join guide and Syrian refugee Tamer Aljasem on his guided wandering around Dalston inspired by the stories of refugees.

We Cannot Walk Alone: Refugee Week march & online event
Socially Engaged Art Salon
13 June, 2pm-6.30pm, Jubilee Square, Brighton
Walk, Public art, Poetry, Music
Socially distanced procession and public art intervention through central Brighton followed by a viewing of the large room installation ‘Message in a bottle’, and an online evening of poetry and music.

Refugee Week at MAC
Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham
19 June, 1pm and 3.30pm, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham
Music
Birmingham celebrates Refugee Week with live performances by local and national artists including Germa Adan (Haiti), Nifeco Costa (Guinea Bissau), Kausary (Peru), Bumi Thomas (Scotland – Nigeria).

Can You Hear Me, Now?
Stand and Be Counted
20 June, 1pm, Swanswell Park & Pool, Coventry
Music, Dance, Spoken Word, Performance
A celebratory, large-scale outdoor performance made with and for the people of Coventry. Expect live music, dance, spoken word, storytelling and spectacle. Part of the Coventry Welcomes Festival for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021.

We Cannot Walk Alone: People’s Park Walk
St Augustine’s Centre
20 June, 12.30pm, People’s Park, Halifax
Walk
A mass walk in Halifax in celebration of Refugee Week and in memory of Jo Cox, part of The Great Walk Together. Three route options range from easy and accessible to five miles. All ages welcome, free t-shirt for first 100 people to turn up!