Recent years have seen a shift in how universities approach working with diverse communities, both in the UK and globally. The focus is moving away from research on or about these communities to one that emphasises building collaborative relationships that acknowledge the rich knowledge and expertise within communities, and the contribution that they make to our collective lives. These collaborations provide platforms for sharing wisdom and resources, with important initiatives such as Shades of Noir and the Black South West Network’s Charter for Co-Produced Research driving us towards fairer modes and methods of collaboration. The arts and cultural sector plays a central role, offering participants opportunities to share experiences in creative and authentic ways while addressing complex societal issues. Here three artists and academics talk about their very different collaborations all of which play a different role in challenging the pervasive narratives around migration in the UK.
Kwesi Johnson, Creative Director, The Cultural Assembly
Decolonising Memory - Digital Bodies in Motion was a UKRI-funded Citizen Science project that transformed academic research into art, exploring Bristol’s sites of memory and its ties to the Transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans or The Maafa, meaning ‘great tragedy’ in Swahili.
The project was prompted by a conversation in 2018 between Kwesi Johnson & Cleo Lake and accelerated by the toppling of Edward Colston statue, a prominent trafficker of African people, whose statue once stood in Bristol’s city centre and whose family crest was only recently removed from University of Bristol’s logo. Only leaving the Wills and Fry family’s crests, who didn’t traffic African people but their wealth was accumulated from benefitting from their free labour in producing Tobacco and chocolate respectively.
The Colston crest and name still adorn many buildings and street names in Bristol however, the city is not alone in naming buildings and streets after such characters like Colston, the project could have taken place in many cities around the world, but Bristol was an important hub, which is why it became the focus of the project and where we created the methodology.
The project culminated in a memorial dance and an Augmented Reality (AR) art and performance trail, offering a unique way to engage with decolonisation.
It emerged from six monthly workshops combining dance, visual art, spoken word, African history and city tours. These sessions examined how Bristol’s buildings, churches and theatres, funded by slavery and the presence of Colston’s statue, impacted communities. The material re-examined hidden narratives embedded in the city’s streets and monuments, using location-based AR to reveal overlooked histories. The project is deeply rooted in community engagement. The development process involved extensive historical research alongside creative and educational workshops with Bristol residents.
The memorial dance, inspired by these narratives, was performed at various locations, including Bristol’s Harbour Festival and continues to evolve, recently receiving funding for original music. The dance, available to learn online, serves as a living memorial, using movement to engage with history and the people of Bristol.
The AR trail, a permanent feature, uses smartphones to explore key locations. Digital overlays, archival materials and spoken-word narratives bring history to life. For example, AR effects crumble walls of houses in Queens Square to reveal the names of enslaved Africans whose labour funded Bristol’s development. Colston’s statue is replaced with a step pyramid, showcasing motion captured choreography from the memorial dance. Workshop participants share their thoughts on decolonisation in an audio track, while AR headstones feature messages from slave traders in purgatory, reflecting on their actions.
By blending history, art, dance and creative technology, Decolonising Memory disrupts traditional heritage and place engagement, making learning accessible and experiential. It sparks critical conversations about legacy, responsibility and the role of public spaces in shaping cultural memory.
Decolonising Memory was a partnership with The Cultural Assembly's Creative Director, Kwesi Johnson, Bristol University, Dr. Jessica Moody and former Lord Mayor Cleo Lake. With additional workshops delivered by Norman ‘Rubba’ Stephenson, Paul Obina, Latisha Cesar and Edson Burton. It stands as a powerful example of how art and technology can redefine historical narratives. More information -
https://decolonisingmemory.co.uk/?tag=vlog
A short trailer of the AR experience -https://tiny.cc/decol
Learn the dance - https://youtu.be/mRU7pC-ygLI
Professor Catherine Clarke, Director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and Community at the Institute of Historical Research
The Centre for the History of People, Place and Community (CHPPC), at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, works together with partners and communities to research and share the histories of diverse migrant communities. The CHPPC is home to Layers of London, a map-based platform for crowdsourced histories, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Hundreds of records and collections, pinned to locations, explore migration histories: from the rich heritage of independent restaurants run by the Greek and Greek Cypriot communities, to personal stories like that of Habib Hussain, the first Pakistani Muslim Magistrate, who arrived in England in 1957, shared by the Everyday Muslim Project, to ‘Corner Shop Stories’, uncovering the stories of many Asian families and their migration experiences, and the arrival cards and locations of Windrush passengers. The CHPPC also works with partners on events and activities linked to migrant communities. Recently, these have included a zine-making workshop with Refugee Tales (associated with the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group), involving those with lived experience of the asylum system; or a seminar with a speaker from education charity Global Link, reflecting on community projects supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Manchester.
In the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) more widely, numerous projects have focused on the histories and experiences of migrant communities. The project The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, aimed to produce a scholarly examination of the so-called ‘Windrush Scandal’ within a fully transnational framework, one that properly considers the agency of a wide variety of official and non-official actors from both sides of the Atlantic and the role of the post-colonial and Commonwealth contexts of international relations. In partnership with the Black Cultural Archives, Brixton, it undertook extensive interviews, and involved creative practitioners such as poet John Agard.
Dr Neelam Raina, Director of Research at Middlesex University & Director of the Secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Afghan Women and Girls.
The Making of the Academic Migrant, and Academic Activist.
Between 2019 and 2024, Middlesex University was part of a five-year research initiative, The Gender, Justice and Security Hub1, with Afghanistan as one of the core research countries. Within this larger project, I developed Culture and Conflict2, a project that examined the intrinsic value of cultural knowledge—expressed through embroidery, weaving, and other traditional crafts—in South Asia, including Afghanistan. The research centred on women in conflict and post-conflict settings who deploy their skills, tacit knowledge, and creative practices as means of survival, resilience, and reconstruction. Through a series of workshops, these practices underwent a process of transformation, amplifying their economic and social value while contributing to broader dialogues on gender, justice, and security.
Then came the unforeseen rupture of the COVID-19 pandemic—a crisis that paled in comparison to what followed.
When Kabul fell in August 2021, our work pivoted with urgency. The very research colleagues we worked alongside were now at risk, their association with UK-funded projects marking them as targets. We mobilized swiftly, to orchestrate complex evacuation efforts with a small team at both universities. As our Afghan colleagues navigated borders and bureaucracies, we bore witness to their anxiety and dislocation, committed to securing not just their safety but also their futures.
The academic inevitably became the activist. We confronted the realities of forced migration—where individuals are reduced to labels: asylum seeker, refugee, IDP, migrant, immigrant, or, in the recent language of the United States, ‘alien.’ These classifications, however, must be examined through the lens of humanity and dignity.
Rebuilding an academic and professional life in an unfamiliar landscape demands extraordinary resilience—something conflict takes as its price. In response, we established the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afghan Women and Girls, ensuring that lived experiences and critical conversations are brought directly to those in power. The act of evacuation was not just a moral imperative; it was an extension of our research principles. Establishing a policy advocacy platform was our way of ensuring that justice and equality remain central to our mission, even when they exist beyond the bounds of academic inquiry.
Now, as we confront shifting narratives on migration in the UK—within a nation that has a long history of offering refuge with warmth—we evaluate our next challenge: reshaping public discourse with integrity and truth.
[1] The Gender, Justice and Security Hub, funded by UKRI is a multi-partner research network that works with local and global civil society, practitioners, and researchers to advance gender justice and inclusive peace. The Hub is based at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security includes over 40 partner organisations and 120 researchers around the world. https://thegenderhub.com/about/
[2] https://thegenderhub.com/stories/culture-and-conflict-2/
[3] See our online exhibition at www.practicesofmaking.com
These examples illustrate the growing importance of collaboration between the arts and research to examine pressing social and political issues. From decolonising the history of the UK to challenging current migration narratives, work of this nature demonstrates how collaboration between higher education and the arts work intersects with activism, creates change and fuels challenge and debate. As the landscape of research collaboration evolves, these initiatives show the potential for meaningful partnerships to help shape cultural memory, public policy, and societal values.
This is an extended version of a blog published in February 2024 as part of NCACE’s Editorial Partnership with Arts Professional.
Image credit: Kwesi Johnson. Caption: Decolonising Memory - Digital Bodies in Motion emerged from conversations between Kwesi Johnson and Cleo Lake sparked by the toppling of the Colson statue