Lewisham to mark Refugee Week with ‘Celebrating Sanctuary’ event at Horniman Museum 

Lewisham will mark this year’s Refugee Week with an all-day event called ‘Celebrating Sanctuary’ at the Horniman Museum and Gardens.

Everyone is welcome to join the fun-filled festival, at the Forest Hill museum on Saturday, 25th June which will run from 1pm-5pm.

The family-friendly event will include theatre, storytelling, workshops, arts and crafts, live music and food.

As part of the offering, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network’s (LRMN) Women’s Group will perform a short play called This London, documenting their experience of rebuilding their lives in the UK.

Following this, a workshop on sanctuary will give guests an opportunity to learn more about building welcoming and safe communities.

Organisers say such events are a necessary response to what they say is a ‘Hostile Environment’ created by government policy against migrants and refugees.

The Borough of Sanctuary movement directly challenges this culture of hostility, transforming Lewisham into a place that is welcoming, safe, promoting integration and a sense of belonging for refugee, asylum seeker and migrant communities.

A spokesman for the LRMN said: “With some of the anti-refugee laws that the Government is pushing through right now, we are excited to come together and show that we are a borough that welcomes everyone, regardless of their immigration status.”

The whole community is invited to join the festival, which is part of the Lewisham Borough of Culture programme.

It is a collaborative festival organised by and featuring Create Without Borders, Lewisham Council, Counterpoints Arts, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network, Lewisham Borough of Sanctuary, Hope in the Heart, Flotsam Sessions, and others.

Pictured: Horniman Museum and Gardens (Picture: No Swan So Fine)