Here are some examples of the many diverse arts and cultural events that have taken place throughout the UK

Have a look too at this Storify blog post of arts events from Refugee Week 2016

1) Location: Sheffield
Venue: Settlement Youth and Community Centre
Title of Event: Ceilidh Dance and Fashion Show Evening
Summary: An evening of encounters and sharing traditions. Refugees and British born people came together to learn the Irish Ceilidh with songs and food from different refugee backgrounds.

2) Location: Nottingham
Venue: View from the Top Gallery, Waterstones bookstore
Title of Event: Celebrating Refugee Week; an exhibition of posters by young people
Summary: The British Red Cross organised a poster competition for young people in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire, to raise awareness of the problems faced by refugees in the UK and give young people the chance to express their views through art. The exhibition was the result of the competition, sharing the work of young people with members of the public.

3) Location: Birmingham
Venue: Library Theatre
Title of Event: Out of the Frying Pan
Summary: A drama group of young asylum seekers and refugees performed a piece of theatre entitled ‘Out of the Frying Pan’. The drama explored the experiences of asylum seekers living in Birmingham with the aim of countering the negative & inaccurate views that often surround this issue. The evening also featured original music and dance pieces and included a reception and an art exhibition entitled ‘Drawing Your Own Conclusions’.

4) Location: Ipswich
Venue: ‘Grinning Rat’ pub
Title of Event: The Grand Finale
Summary: A great day of non-stop music dedicated to celebrating the many types of music and musicians from Ipswich communities. The event featured live music ranging from an African Women’s Choir to folk, blues and rock plus world music from Baobad. The event was aimed at families and also included theatre performances of ‘Asylum Monologues’ and a barbecue.

5) Location: Glasgow
Venue: Glasgow Film Theatre
Title of Event: Primary and Transitions
Summary: Young Glasgow asylum seekers aged 8 to 20 presented their own powerful films. Followed by an after-show debate with a panel including the young film-makers, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Careers Scotland.

6) Location: Leicester
Venue: Leicester Cathedral Centre
Title of Event: Refugee Footprints in the sand
Summary: Footprints in the Sand gave people an artistic look at refugee’s journeys from their home country to the UK, as they walked their route on a giant world map.

A giant world map, 10 metres by 8 metres, was spread out and refugees from the local community walked their journey to the UK with paint on their feet, ‘foot printing’ their journey. Organisers of the event detailed people’s journeys and recording their stories. The event was aimed at both refugees and non refugees.

7) Location: London
Venue: Kilburn Library
Title of Event: Connecting Communities
Summary: West London Refugee Women’s Forum launched a new book of recipes from around the world. People from all communities were invited to wear their traditional or modern cultural dress to the event and learn about the food of different cultures. The event also included poetry and performances by schoolchildren from the local community.

8) Location: Wolverhampton
Venue: Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
Title of Event: A House on the Moon
Summary: A House on the Moon is a community opera about a group of young people, who travel from distant homelands to seek refuge. Touching on themes of loss and exodus, the opera was fittingly performed by members of Wolverhampton’s refugee community, alongside professional singers, local schoolchildren and a wide range of local community groups.

9) Location: London
Venue: Various
Summary: Poetry writing workshops were held with refugees for a number of weeks. A selection of the poems were then printed onto postcards and distributed in imaginative ways – from displays in offices and libraries to being handed out to passers by in the streets. Poems were also recited by the authors and other performers in the streets and offices.

10) Location: Worthing
Venue: Davison CE High School for Girls
Title of Event: Can you hear me?
Summary: A number of unaccompanied asylum seeker pupils from secondary schools in the county were given the opportunity to speak out about themselves, their lives and what is important to them, using computer software to produce a lasting record or their self-expression in images and sound. They were taught how to incorporate images, spoken and written words, and a variety of other sounds into their own digital ‘stories’. The pupil’s works were collected onto DVD, and the work was used as a travelling digital installation and display which visited a variety of venues, including schools and libraries around the county.