Today, for a welcome change, I had somewhere to go this morning! The new Refugees: Forced to Flee exhibition at @I_W_M opened last week, and I’ve been working on the Advisory Board for it for the past 2 yrs. so I was eager to see it. (Thread)

The Refugees exhibit at @I_W_M considers 100 yrs of refugee movements, from Belgian refugees during WWI to Kindertransport to the displacements from the fmr Yugoslavia, Afghanistan & Syria, the exhibit covers enormous ground & tells the stories of refugees in a human, humane way.

The exhibit also incorporates the work of 7 research projects funded by @ESRC @ahrcpress @GCRF @UKRI_News.

Here are some of my favourite bits: The amazing zoom animation North Star Fading, animated by @KarrieFransman with voiceover from Lula Mebrahtu, produced by @PosNegOrg, based on the stories of 4 Eritrean asylum seekers.

A room based on the theme of home has ‘windows’ through which you can look back through the years to see life before conflict disrupted people’s lives. You also meet 5 people who share their stories at different points throughout the exhibit.

The end of a 100 year timeline shows some of the largest refugee flows today and in recent years.

The Crossing the Mediterranean Sea by Boat research project led by Vicki Squire inspired both this animation which tells the stories of several refugees & their journeys, and a fantastic series of neon constellations by artist Indrė Šerpytytė based on actual journeys.

. @PeterGatrell’s Reckoning With Refugeedom research project considers the history of refugee testimonials from 1919-1975. I also found the quote above the video so apt.

This cross once hung above the Eritrean church at The Jungle in Calais. I lingered over it reflecting on the news this morning that French police ‘cleared’ (evicted) 700 people from Calais in the pre-dawn hours of YESTERDAY. This is happening NOW.

These helpful infographics show how paltry the UK’s refugee acceptances are. Some much needed perspective.

The @RefugeeHosts project led by @FiddianQasmiyeh was featured in a video showing their work with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and features a lovely poem by Yousif Qasmiyeh.

One of my favourite Migration films, Dear Habib, the story of a young Afghan man coming to the UK made by Majid Adin with @PosNegOrg for the Becoming Adult project led by @dr_elainechase w @JenniferAllsopp looked great in its own room!

Last but definitely not least are these amazing displacement-inspired carpets from Shorsh Saleh, accompanied by a series of multimedia paintings that you will just have to go see for yourself!

So there’s your virtual tour. Thanks to @I_W_M for great work & for the partnership with @ahrcpress @ESRC. It’s open til May 24, 2021, so plenty of time to get there and there’ll be loads of virtual events so you can join from anywhere! Wear a ! https://www.iwm.org.uk/seasons/refugees