2 weeks Ago By Greg Barradale
The far-right riots in towns across the UK exposed a seam of racism and anti-migrant vitriol. But in a shopping centre in south east London, a tent showcasing refugee stories from Calais and a replica Chinese takeaway are part of the fight for a different narrative. All Our Stories, a new exhibition at the Migration Museum, tells the story of how migration has shaped the UK’s cities, diets, fashions, culture, ideas, beliefs and more.
The exhibition “couldn’t be more timely” in the wake of racist violence targeting migrant communities, Matthew Plowright, the museum’s director of communications and engagement, told the Big Issue ahead of its launch. “Racist violence across the country earlier in the summer, combined with longer-term anti-immigration policy and rhetoric from both politicians and the media has created a highly combustible situation and had devastating impacts on migrant communities and ethnic minorities in Britain,” said Plowright. The exhibition tells the story of how migration has shaped the UK.
Image: Paul Trevor, courtesy Four Corners and Swadhinata Trust “Conversations about migration can so easily become heated and polarising. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Migration is not a new story or a contemporary ‘problem’ to be ‘solved’ — Britain has a long history of migration, one we should all be proud of.
” Opening on 12 September, the exhibition’s creators hope it will show how migration is a fundamental part of British history, despite what thugs on the streets amid the horrifying UK riots might think. Author Angela Hui will curate a Chinese takeaway exhibition, while a tent will showcase stories, artwork, and sounds from a former refugee camp in Calais. Visitors will also be able to explore thousands of personal migration stories.
A tent installation helps tell the story of refugees in a Calais camp. Image: Migration Museum “The exhibition captures the individual lives and experiences – the everyday and the extraordinary – of people living through moments in history,” said Aditi Anand, artistic director at the Migration Museum and lead curator of the exhibition. “At the same time, we also wanted to zoom out and look at the long history of migration to and from these shores across the centuries, putting into perspective what can seem like uniquely contemporary concerns.
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