Journeys Festival International, the UK’s first festival of Sanctuary, is joining up 3 cities this autumn as Leicester, Manchester and Portsmouth all host the festival during the same 10 days.
From 15 to 24 October, the three cities will be filled with large-scale exhibitions, performances, workshops, virtual reality experiences, global cuisine and digital projects, mostly for free or a small donation.
The programme includes a fantastic selection of cultural events and creative activities that will intrigue and entertain audience members up and down the country. Journeys Festival International wants to encourage people to stop by and engage with topics of refugee experiences and artists with sanctuary seeking backgrounds in a creative context.
One of the highlights is set to be the immersive sound and light installation Where There Is Light by Squidsoup, which will be at Leicester Cathedral. Capturing the voices and stories of sanctuary seeking communities in Leicester, it will be asking questions of connection and transformation in these current challenging times.
Elsewhere, Reckoning by Choreographer and Storyteller Akeim Toussaint Buck is part of a collaboration with European artists, using contemporary dance, animation and spoken word to weave the stories of generations of displaced people into a performance piece. The large-scale outdoor animation Bloodland Embrace by Majid Adin will also bring local communities together to enjoy an evening of projections around favourite city centre locations.
With an amazing line-up of international artists, the festival will bring flavours of different cultures from around the world to Leicester, Manchester and Portsmouth – all at the same time! For more information, visit the website https://www.journeysfestival.com.