CONNECTION: The UEA student led art exhibition taking place this weekend

'Connection' is an exhibition which has been organised by the UEA Art History Society in affiliation with a Norwich based charity called New Routes Integration, promoting community and conversation surrounding refugee integration. It is taking place between Friday the 15th of March and Sunday the 17th of March. Exhibiting art work by both UEA students and Norwich based artist, it's definitely worth a swing by.

If you would like to attend, the event will be open this weekend from 10am – 6pm on Saturday the 16th and 10am – 5pm on Sunday the 17th. Entrance is free, but donations are welcomed.

The exhibition, as stated in the zine distributed at the event, aims to "create and inspire a sense of community and connection that both acknowledges and transcends culture, nationality, and ethnicity" as well as providing a "foundation for future conversation about how we can best create a more compassionate inclusive environment for refugees in our city".

The event is associated with New Routes Integration, a charity which supports the inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers and isolated migrants.

It aims to foster connections between people of different backgrounds and cultures as well as create community awareness surrounding issues of assimilation. The charity runs events which both promote cross-cultural dialogue and friendships, and provide support and skills to newly settled refugees in Norwich. For example, they run social activities, English classes and career mentoring sessions.

I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of the exhibition on Friday, hosted in the quaint, intimate Nunn's Yard gallery. As the rooms filled up, the air buzzed with a feeling of community, curiosity, collectivism and admiration for the beautiful art, on display. The night urged us to reflect on visions of home and stability, and emphasised the need for love. You could tell that the event meant a lot to everyone involved; the hard work of Art History Society is clearly visible in their aim to promote thought, change and connection through this exhibition.

If you would like to learn more about the New Routes Integration charity, visit this link

You can donate to New Routes via this link

You can also get involved with new routes by volunteering to help them run English language classes or mentoring schemes which they can provide training for.