A group of young asylum seekers have taken on the challenge of organising and presenting an art exhibition highlighting their experiences of flight from their homes this summer. They are appealing to the public to find a venue or  gallery space in central London large enough to house their exhibition in June or July.

The Young Adults In Transition (YAIT) project, run by the Refugee Council, encourages these young adults to use their  current skills while learning new  ones. One of the young people said:

“Taking on the roll of co-ordinator is difficult but has allowed me to gain in confidence”.

Another young person said:

“I really love what I’m doing. It helps me to do something different than waiting for a decision from  the Home Office”.

The theme of this exhibition is “The Journey” and the work includes fine art, installations and paintings. The aim is to allow the public  to walk in the footprints of these young adults for a short while.

As part of their preparation, during a workshop exploring their journey they shared the following:

“We had a dream that life in the UK would lead to freedom. But reality turns out to be difficult and stagnant. We feel lonely at times, uncertain about the future and it can be emotional to talk about out journeys.

“With the exhibition we want to make the public aware of how we feel; depressed, anxious and shocked. We want to encourage people to make a chance to our journey and experience”.

If you have or know of an exhibition space and want to support the Young Adults in Transition, please contact Lindon, Programme Coordinator at lindon.rankin@refugeecouncil.org.uk