Art Refuge

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Art Refuge UK registered charity no 1114353
founded in 2006

Art Refuge uses art and art therapy to support the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of people displaced due to conflict, persecution, poverty and climate emergency, in the UK and internationally. Art Refuge uses art and art therapy to support the mental health and wellbeing of people displaced due to conflict, persecution and poverty both in the UK and internationally. Rooted in the experience of visual art making and art therapy, our programmes offer opportunities to make art, reflect, share and develop safe art making practice. Art Refuge is equipped to respond appropriately through art and art therapy in a range of circumstances, informed by decades of collective experience and specialisms in trauma work, psychosocial approaches, transiting populations and collaborative programmes.
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Supported by a strong board of trustees, our team of freelance registered art therapists alongside artists, many from refugee backgrounds, provide carefully constructed needs-led programmes in collaboration with local organisations, adapting to each context..

*** THE TWO-CHARACTER PLAY ***AT DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE 20-24 OCTOBER, 2026! Please find out more and book your tickets vi...
21/10/2026

*** THE TWO-CHARACTER PLAY ***
AT DRAYTON ARMS THEATRE
20-24 OCTOBER, 2026!

Please find out more and book your tickets via Drayton Arms SW5

*** ALL PROCEEDS from the entire run will go to Art Refuge, so every ticket helps support our work! ***

*** The Drayton Arms is also hosting a FREE DROP-IN WORKSHOP in the theatre run by Art Refuge using The Community Table - adjusted time of 4-6PM this Thursday 22 October ***

It will include an informal presentation about Art Refuge from Bobby Lloyd and Dr Miriam Usiskin.

EVERYONE WELCOME! Please come along, try out the materials, get involved and be part of the conversation.
And, please then stay on for the evening performance.
We’d love to see you there!

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Art Refuge uses art and art therapy to support the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of people displaced due to conflict, persecution, poverty and climate emergency, in the UK and internationally.

As a mobile charity without a physical base, we go to where people are located. Our ongoing programmes take place in the UK and France while we are involved in shorter term projects, exhibitions and research in these and other settings. We also deliver tailor-made arts-based training, crisis support and skills-sharing workshops in the UK, Europe, internationally and online.

Since 2015, our core programmes have taken place on either side of the English Channel - through which our team of art therapists and art therapists has developed its research-based model of practice The Community Table which is gaining widespread interest in the UK and internationally.
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“TEN YEARS ON”Calais. 21.10.26During the Refugee Crisis in Europe in 2015, several thousand people displaced on the Fran...
21/10/2026

“TEN YEARS ON”
Calais. 21.10.26

During the Refugee Crisis in Europe in 2015, several thousand people displaced on the France-UK border took temporary shelter in a large makeshift refugee camp in Calais. Known as The Jungle, the camp was completely cleared in late October 2016, exactly ten years ago.

Art Refuge worked in the Jungle camp over a 15 month period with Médecins du Monde and Meédecins sans Frontières. To mark the ten year anniversary of its closure, today we visited the original site of the camp, now a large nature reserve. Any semblance of the camp’s existence has been erased, except for a large piece of recent graffiti on a World War Two bunker holding the words SAFE TRIP TO UK, the letters ‘UK’ indistinct, appearing to have been almost scrubbed out.

People hoping to find asylum in the UK have since been living in and around Calais in intensely challenging and hostile conditions, surviving in small informal living sites, largely hidden.

For the past decade, Art Refuge has continued to work in the town with The Community Table. Today we once again took the table to .exilessc . The Autumnal weather was changeable, with sunshine and rain.

The table was busy and well used all afternoon. A number of young men spent several hours with us, from Sudan, Chad, Eritrea.., taking their time to build, paint their flag, or type out lengthy texts from the little Migration book on the manual typewriter. Care, patience and kindness were shown around the table in abundance.

Various volunteers came to join in, while three religious sisters came over to observe the activity. One young man proudly showed us the lush hills and waterfalls of his homeland; another spoke of his shattered dreams. A third joined us with a broken arm, playfully opening ‘The Free People Hotel’ and welcoming us, in his role as receptionist. This was after a long process of making a small brick building with his non-dominant hand, patiently and slowly transforming it from a house to a stable to its final form.

Bobby Lloyd & Miriam Usiskin

COUNTRIES AND CULTURES MOVING BETWEEN PEOPLEBristol update - 06.10.26Since 2013 Art Refuge has been running groups in Br...
08/10/2026

COUNTRIES AND CULTURES MOVING BETWEEN PEOPLE
Bristol update - 06.10.26

Since 2013 Art Refuge has been running groups in Bristol for people who have been displaced, and during that time we have had the honour to work, collaborate with and be hosted by many organisations based in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire including BHN, Bristol University’s The Little Library, Home Office hotels, Trigger, Caravan Arts, Mitoshka Alcova, Shanika Yeomans, RWNS, Bristol City Council, CYN, Bristol Churches welcoming the people of Ukraine.

Dispersals from Home Office accommodation have gathered momentum over the last year, with many people being resettled outside of the local authority that they had built a life within, many being sent away from cities known for their diversity and capacity to meet the various needs of people escaping war, political and cultural oppression. In parallel, Art Refuge has responded to calls for collaboration in the North of England, namely Sheffield where longstanding members of the Art Refuge team and community are based.

In preparation for our pause, the map was carefully cleaned and hung out to dry in in the sun before being rolled up and handed over to our colleagues at Médecins du Monde Hauts-de-France in Dunkirk. Through the process of moving the map, we know that more people will be able to gather around it, imagine themselves inside it, and track theirs and others journeys through collective remembering and conversation.

Any Bristol related enquiries will be received through our general email address [email protected]

Sarah Robinson and Amy Wilson

AUTUMN HAS ARRIVEDNorthern France, 7th October 2026We arrived in autumnal sunshine and drove with the mobile clinic to t...
07/10/2026

AUTUMN HAS ARRIVED
Northern France, 7th October 2026

We arrived in autumnal sunshine and drove with the mobile clinic to the distribution area outside Dunkirk, following a briefing. Earlier this week, two further deaths at sea were reported.

On site, the Médecins du Monde Hauts-de-France team set up the mobile clinic efficiently, while we observed the physical landscape struggling with the challenges of over a thousand people living outside. We set a small exhibition up on the side of the psychosocial van while inside two sisters came to draw while their mother was seeing the doctor. A young woman spoke about feeling stressed. Using plasticine, we reminded her that rhythmic breathing can help to calm oneself down.

About an hour into our session the whole team needed to leave the living site quickly due to security reasons, and we returned to the MDM office to debrief with the team. Although the session was short and ended too early, we were again reminded of the immense complexities of this border setting. We collectively noted the number of women and small children. The medical team noted the increase in people with severe burns, mostly on their legs, from the lethal mixture of fuel and seawater.

On the Calais beach the rain began; strong wind blowing saltwater horizontally. The change of weather from the morning was abrupt. Our thoughts go to everyone so determined to make a better life for themselves and their families while living outside in such difficult conditions.

Miriam Usiskin and Bobby Lloyd

“WE NEVER TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER”Calais, France, September 30, 2026On early Monday morning, a ten year old boy and two w...
30/09/2026

“WE NEVER TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER”
Calais, France, September 30, 2026

On early Monday morning, a ten year old boy and two women in their 30s tragically died while trying to cross the English Channel in a small boat, not far from Calais. We heard today of other deaths in northern France that don’t reach the mainstream news.

As a small group, we visited the Calais beach before setting up The Community Table in the main Secours Catholique Calais exilés day centre space. The weather outside was rainy and muggy, and teenage boys and young men arrived wet.

We reflected on the constant movement of a lot of people in the day centre; and the settledness at the table that extended across the afternoon - with fifty or so people joining us.

At the table, multiple miniature brick houses were built, and rebuilt. One young man was particularly absorbed in the making of his house, diffident at first, then careful and patient, absorbed in the intricate process across several hours. At the end he used plasticine to create himself on a chair sitting admiring his new home. In turn, his body language changed, as he sat back in his real chair and seemed to embody a sense of the creative journey he had been on. He also received praise for his beautiful home from those around him.

There were other energies across the other side of the table - two young man relishing the reading of our migration books, cover to cover. A lot of discussion around birds and migration followed.

Messages across time and space were also discussed through reading together the short messages on the backs of old postcards sent home from various UK and far flung places, so many reporting on the weather. One young man told us with humour: “We never talk about the weather in Sudan. It’s always the same (hot)!”

Reflection from our visitor Laura:
“I was struck by the small way the table gives purpose and order, and a sense of accomplishment with a self-directed project to work on. The art appeared as a tool for conversation that’s both joyful and productive, spending the day well.”

Bobby Lloyd, Miriam Usiskin, Jayne McConkey, Laura O’Connor

FINDING STABLE GROUNDDunkirk, France - 7th September 2026 It was our first week back in Dunkirk after a summer break. Th...
07/09/2026

FINDING STABLE GROUND
Dunkirk, France - 7th September 2026

It was our first week back in Dunkirk after a summer break. The weather was temperate, and we were pleased to reconnect with Médecins du Monde Hauts-de-France team and mobile clinic. News of this weekend’s far-right “stop the boats” protests in Dover and Portsmouth was discussed during the morning meeting.

The physical landscape around the distribution points and living sites remains bleak. A hostile twist is being added to the terrain: a complex network of walls built on either side of the railway line, hemming people in even further.

Despite the grim surroundings, the team was fully in action. The doctor and nurse were busy, which meant that the psychosocial van was well used. We noted a high prevalence of skin issues, limb injuries, and severe burns. The people seeking help came from a wide range of countries and spanned all generations—from infants and teenagers to young people, and adults who once led established professional lives.

We caught snippets of people’s journeys. We heard from a 14-year-old who was forced to flee their homeland, only to be imprisoned for a year in a country on route. Others had been violently evicted from neighbouring countries or deemed stateless in the very lands where they were born. The themes of displacement, loss, and statelessness hung heavy in the air. Many spoke about how gruelling life in Dunkirk truly is, defined by a severe paucity of basic necessities, in spite of the immense efforts of the NGOs.

Yet, amidst these harsh realities, we found a moment of connection. We set up a game of Jenga, which quickly evolved into a spirited four-player match. The unstable ground on which the van was parked made our small table slightly skewed. Every movement in and out of the van caused it to wobble, forcing us to be acutely aware of the tower’s delicate balance. But against the odds, we managed to make it work - finding our own kind of stable ground, together as a group.

Miriam Usiskin, Bobby Lloyd

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NEPAL-TIBET BORDER - one week on 02.09.26Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by the devastati...
02/09/2026

NEPAL-TIBET BORDER - one week on
02.09.26

Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by the devastating landslide on the Nepal-Tibet border one week ago; and all those struggling to assist in this tragedy’s aftermath - on both sides of the border, and further afield.

The origins of Art Refuge lie in supporting Tibetan children who had crossed the Himalayas on foot from Tibet, first into Nepal and then by bus on into India. Art Refuge offered art and play spaces in reception centres in both settings. In Nepal, our work from 2006-15/17 took place in Kathmandu and the surrounding regions, including supporting communities during and following the devastating 2015 earthquakes through arts-based spaces, alongside local and international NGO’s.

Amongst the people we were privileged to meet were local teachers and caring professionals who were continuing their work whilst processing their own experiences and taking care of their families. Communities on the ground worked tirelessly to ensure aid, medical and psychosocial assistance reached those that needed it.

We can only imagine the challenges now being faced in Tibet and Nepal in these most unprecedented circumstances.

Image from an Art Refuge workshop with refugee children in Kathmandu, Nepal, 2015

“COMMUNITY KITES”2016 CALAIS / 2026 SWANSEAWe are delighted that “Community Kites” are currently exhibited in “ART IN TH...
05/08/2026

“COMMUNITY KITES”
2016 CALAIS / 2026 SWANSEA

We are delighted that “Community Kites” are currently exhibited in “ART IN THE SKY” at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea curated by Isabel Griffin
19.06.26 - 27.09.26

The origins of these 9 tiny kites are best described by the following text, edited from Art Refuge’s original Blog post from ‘The Jungle’ camp in Calais, 22.04.16:

“THURSDAY
We were once again struck by the challenges of location & structure of the Mêdecins du Monde psychosocial area which sits in the the camp’s south at the road’s edge, doors open to the spacious tent but fenced off to the ‘wasteland’. Throughout the 5 hr session the space was mostly visited by Afghani men & teenage boys newly arrived to Calais, as well as some young men from Sudan. Kite-making, marking routes on the large map & images of home, dominated the session.

Several men communicated fragments of their journey, such as the terrifying boat trip from Libya, one man describing being in water for hours before being rescued. The map & mapping once again offered a valuable tool for marking out these journeys at people’s own pace, some spending hours in the space before making anything at all. A kite made out of a map of France flew beautifully until crashing back onto the ‘wasteland’.

FRIDAY
Many people from yesterday joined the .refugee.project space. This was a session for literally tying & untying knots. Kite making & attempts at flying were today’s main themes, complicated by spiralling winds, making a sustained soaring flight into the sky hard, but not impossible, to achieve…

Today’s kites made from road maps were the main activity led by men from Iran and Afghanistan – competitiveness giving way to collaboration. Small kites proved to work better whilst the larger kites got heavier – taped down, & struggling to fly much above the ground. The process of making involved building, cooperation, & absorption…

At the end of the day two boys joined us, one managing to fly a two stringed kite with skill & patience, their father looking on.”

MEASURING HEIGHTS AND TOUCHING BASECalais,15th July 2026We arrived in Calais just before the sun broke through the cloud...
17/07/2026

MEASURING HEIGHTS AND TOUCHING BASE
Calais,15th July 2026

We arrived in Calais just before the sun broke through the clouds, and it soon became another warm sunny day. .exilessc was full of visitors with many volunteers, but much larger numbers of mostly young men from Sudan who use the day centre as a place to rest, recharge and touch base.

We set up The Community Table in the main space, with watercolours and typewriters alongside our bricks and viewing tools. We counted around 50 young men who visited the table, several of whom we had met before. The afternoon became a hive of activity with detailed houses being built; the 1960’s & 70’s typewriters tried out as objects of novelty; the slides, Viewmasters, and postcards from different eras and places enjoyed in the mix; and much making together between friends and in small groups.

We observed the movement between analogue and digital. One man carefully typed out in English the essay at the front of the Migrations Book, and was shown how to digitally translate it into his first language of French. Another used an App to translate from his own language to English, communicating that he had only seen typewriters in American war movies, and had never used one before.

Measuring physical height, distances across land and comparative ages of people and things were also explored by those pausing at the table for a little while.

One young man’s interest in the folding measuring stick led to him asking us to check his height. Soon a long queue formed, others keen to know how tall they are. It felt very domestic. A postcard of a carrier pigeon led to a lively conversation about how these homing pigeons know which route to take, sometimes covering very long distances.

It always amazes us how well The Community Table is used; our own curiosity in turn matched by those who join us.

Miriam Usiskin and Bobby Lloyd

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THE LONGEST OF DAYSDunkirk, 01.07.26We arrived in northern France to warm sunny weather, tempered by a welcome breeze. T...
03/07/2026

THE LONGEST OF DAYS
Dunkirk, 01.07.26

We arrived in northern France to warm sunny weather, tempered by a welcome breeze. Ten days ago, it was midsummer but today felt the longest of days. This morning brought another eviction at the living sites while shops were dismantled, adding to an already tense situation for people on the move.

Arriving at the distribution site with the Médecins du Monde Hauts-de-France mobile clinic, queues quickly formed for the doctor and nurse, with people bringing a range of ailments and injuries. The large numbers meant that there was a cumulatively long wait for each person’s turn, calmly facilitated by the wider Médecins du Monde team.

Most of those who waited with us in the psychosocial activities van were from Somalia, and The Community Table was fully activated. Today we saw more women in a single session in this setting than we could remember previously, their ages ranging from early 20’s to mid 50’s. There was a sense of an extended family, a mother taking on another mother’s child while they were seeing the doctor, while others kept track of whose turn it was next.

Drawing and conversation helped to ground and support the adults, while children played with the plasticine and a little boy tried to make a car out of paper. We were struck by how able everybody was to hold it together; even children showed undue patience.

Looking together at postcards of animals led to playful animal impersonations, including goat sounds from an older woman with a twinkle in her eye who had a goat farm at home. As people translated for us and each other, those around the table could access the conversations which felt alive and rich. Simple interactions throughout the afternoon brought everybody to life in a multi-dimensional way.

The afternoon was long with so many people to see. In this harsh landscape, where waiting in limbo is a necessary pastime for people on the move, we witnessed many brief glimmers.

Miriam Usiskin and Bobby Lloyd

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The Coach House, 2 Upper York Street
Bristol
BS28QN

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