Lydia is a newer member of the Journeys Festival International team as the Festival Coordinator. She had a memorable start to joining the organisation as she shares in her first blog post. My journey under my new role of Festival Coordinator at ArtReach began in June of this year... yes, in the middle of a global pandemic! I was extremely excited to join an organisation that helps makes life more colourful and bearable for those with those facing uniquely complicated circumstances and challenges. For our safety, we have to work remotely until the COVID-coast is clear. This meant me digging deep for my non-existent interior design skills to create a comfy office space in the corner of my room
Journeys Festival International (Produced by ArtReach) has announced 4 new commissions and a film programme as part of its 2020 digital Festival, taking place online from 28th September - 18th October 2020. The annual Festival, which explores the refugee experience through great art, usually takes place in the cities of Leicester, Manchester and Portsmouth but for 2020 has created a digital special, which will reach new audiences in the UK and across Europe. The commissions range from international interdisciplinary projects exploring an intergalactic journey through the UK’s immigration system and also how to engage politically when you don't have access to sound. The new works will all exp
In the current political, pandemic and artistic climates exploring themes of freedom and democracy feels more relevant than ever. Whilst personal mobility is restricted on a local, national and international level, two programmes that explore international art are combining to create a platform for artists, from across Europe, to collaboratively respond to these pertinent themes. ArtReach, an Arts Council England NPO, producers of Journeys Festival International (JFI) and lead partner on LIBERTY EU, a 3 year large-scale Creative Europe cooperation funded project, have recently commissioned artists under the age of 30 from across Europe to create new collaborative works of art. The work will
Journeys Festival International Portsmouth producer Claire has always worked closely with our ROOTS group. In a blog post, she appreciates the positive outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic and needing to find new ways of maintaining these strong relationships. COVID-19 has impacted nearly all of our usual ways of working, not least our regular meetings with our ROOTS Groups. The ROOTS Groups are comprised of individuals from the refugee and asylum-seeking community in each city (Leicester, Manchester and Portsmouth), who act as advisors and ambassadors for our work, and we value the opportunity to consult them during our normal meetings. The last few months have found us all learning new ways t
Queer Journeys is a series of zine-making workshops run by artist Youcef Hadjazi illustrating queer migrant journeys. The project is aimed at LGBTQ+ migrants based in the UK who want to narrate their journeys through a creative approach. The project will be realised through 4 themed digital sessions where the artists and participants will share stories and experiences of their migration journeys. After each workshop all participants are invited to populate an existing online space of in form of responses to the workshop themes, which will be used as a template to design the final zine. The workshops will being in July and be concluded in August with each workshop lasting an hour or two. Each
