“You can see me, but I don’t exist” is an exhibition of photography by Alan Gignoux and creative writing by people seeking refuge living in Birmingham, London, and Manchester.

Gignoux worked with two refugee organisations in Birmingham, Stories of Hope and Home and Baobab Women’s Project, an advocacy organisation with refugee and migrant women. The writing workshop leader was Iraqi poet Malka al-Haddad.

The exhibition is installed in the Library of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Memorial Room and is a collaboration between Gignoux and the ‘Everything to Everybody’ Project, whose mission is to unlock the first, oldest and largest Shakespeare collection in any public library in the world.  Visitors will be able to see a selection of items from the collection that engage with stories of exile, highlighting texts from, amongst others, The Tempest and The Comedy of Errors that address these themes.

Shakespeare themed writing workshops related to the exhibition will be offered to the public on 12 June and 29 July. The workshops will be led by Laila Sumpton and Arne Pohlmeier of Bards Without Borders, a collective formed of ten poets from around the world that draws on Shakespeare’s works to explore themes related to exile.  You can read about and book your place on these workshops by going to the relevant date on the Refugee Week listings page where you will find the workshop details.