Counterpoints Arts

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Counterpoints Arts

Engaging with refugee and migrant experiences through arts and cultural programmes. I mean they could be quite antagonists with each other.

“The notion of parallel lines, that is basically a counterpoint, operating together, without the necessity of being reconciled at any one moment. If you were to freeze a moment in time, lets say in a fugue, you could hear maybe a terrible dissonance but that doesn’t matter because what matters really is a flow and flow together and the interweaving of lines ..." from The Last Interview with Edward Said

19/08/2026

“It is the age of three As: Anxiety, Anger and AI.”

In this extract from the Counterpoints Lecture (), Elif Shafak () reflects on the anxieties shaping our world today, and how algorithms, social media and growing anger can deepen the divisions between us.

Against this backdrop, she considers why storytelling, empathy and human connection matter more than ever.

18/08/2026

Join us this Thursday at Whitechapel Gallery for the final event in the A Song for the Xeedho public programme.

Artist Fozia Ismail will be joined by Orsod Malik, Executive Director of the Stuart Hall Foundation, for a conversation exploring the ideas that have emerged through the installation — from diasporic knowledge systems and oral traditions to archiving, counter-archiving and anticolonial practice.

Taking the xeedho as a starting point, they’ll reflect on memory, inheritance, migration, women’s labour and the connections that hold communities across time and place.

Moderated by artist and producer Heather Marks, the conversation will be followed by DJs, food and drinks by Arawelo Studio.

📅 Thursday 20 August, 6:30–9pm
📍 Whitechapel Gallery, London
🎟️ Book via the link in bio

A Song for the Xeedho – the Knot Makers is co-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and Whitechapel Gallery as part of Backyard Biennial.

17/08/2026

We’re delighted to celebrate Erica Li (Erica Li 李思華), winner of the 2026 Footnote × Counterpoints Prize for Fiction! 🎉📚

Erica’s winning novel, A Thousand Rivers of Time, is a family saga following three generations of women from a Hakka-Chinese family from 1945 to the present, exploring displacement, identity, memory and the resilience and courage of her paternal grandmother.

The Prize, created in partnership with Footnote Press, celebrates writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds whose stories explore displacement, courage and belonging. This year, more than 130 writers submitted their work, culminating in a brilliant shortlist of six authors and a live event at Southbank Centre.

Now, Serena Arthur, Commissioning Editor at Footnote Press, reflects on this year’s Prize for Writing East Midlands.

11/08/2026

Tell Your Good People Good Things.

A beautiful reminder from .godden , sharing her poetry with us at It Sounds Like Courage.

An unforgettable evening of music and spoken word at , co-curated with and for .

10/08/2026

In this spoken word video, winner of the Counterpoints Digital Creators Awards, Elisabeth Flett (), responds to the rise of far-right activity in Aberdeen and the impact it is having on people seeking asylum.

Through poetry, Elisabeth calls for greater solidarity with New Scots and reflects on the responsibility of communities to challenge racism and support those building new lives in Scotland. We’re proud to platform Elisabeth’s work and her wider creative practice across poetry, theatre, music, and activism.

05/08/2026

Why does storytelling matter?

In this extract from the Counterpoints Lecture , Elif Shafak () reflects on the unique power of stories to foster empathy, deepen understanding, and remind us of our shared humanity.

03/08/2026

In this video, winner of the Counterpoints Digital Creators Awards, Lola Rustamova (), tells a story about finding belonging in a new place.

Drawing on her own experience of moving from Ukraine to Wales, Lola explores the fear of starting again, the challenge of building new connections, and the difference that kindness can make. We’re proud to support Lola’s growing creative journey and share her thoughtful work with new audiences.

30/07/2026

Join us on Thursday 13 August, at 6.30pm, for a screening of Under the Open Sky. The film screening is followed by a short Q&A with award-winning director Sonum Sumaria and Yumna Kamel, founder of Earth Refuge.

In Under the Open Sky, Ahmed and his family - nomadic camel-herders from India - face an
existential dilemma: to continue their traditional way of life or adapt to a rapidly modernising
world. The film traces their quiet but powerful struggle to hold onto their ancestral way of life
as they are increasingly displaced by industrialisation, climate shifts and economic
pressures.

After the screening, Sonum Sumaria and Yumna will reflect on the making of the film and further questions around climate crisis, displacement, land, memory and belonging.

🎥 Under the Open Sky + Q&A
📅 Thursday 13 August, at 6.30pm
📍BLOC, ArtsOne Building, Queen Mary University
👉 Book your place - link in bio. Tickets £5.

This event is presented as part of Fozia Ismail Fozia Ismail A Song for the Xeedho public programme. Co-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and , for Backyard Biennial.

Sonum Earth Refuge Arawelo Studio

29/07/2026

A moment that will stay with us for a long time.

Palestinian singer, composer and flautist delivered a breathtaking performance at It Sounds Like Courage, accompanied by under the direction of .

One of many unforgettable moments from an evening celebrating music, courage and solidarity at for .

✨

Co-curated by , ,

28/07/2026

Today marks 75 years since the 1951 Refugee Convention was established. Along
with its 1967 Protocol, they are the key legal documents that form the foundation of the international refugee protection system.

Join us in supporting transformative art by, with, and about migrants and refugees.

Historical Images from archives. Slide 8 Counterpoints Arts, Refugee Week 2024, Halifax

Address

Unit 2. 3 Hoxton Works, 128 Hoxton Street
London
N16SH

Telephone

+442081673501

Website

http://www.counterpoints.org.uk/

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