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Festival of Sanctuary announces Lampedusa Cross loan to Hastings
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery supports key partnerships for refugee resettlement
The Festival of Sanctuary will take place on Sunday 12 September, 12-6pm at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery to support local refugees.
The free one-day festival will host some of Hastings’ best musicians and artists who support the act of seeking sanctuary.
Though the event is free, people are asked to donate to the festival’s crowdfunding page to help refugees.
The festival is organised by Hastings Community of Sanctuary and will raise funds for the organisation Hastings Supports Refugees, which has been sending help to thousands of refugees since 2015.
Museum director, Damian Etheraads, said: “Events in Afghanistan and the record numbers of people seeking sanctuary arriving on the beaches around Hastings make it more important than ever to come together and show our support for all those seeking safety. The team are looking forward to hosting the Festival of Sanctuary and continuing our partnership with the Buddy Refugee Project and Syrian Resettlement Programme.”
The event also announces the arrival of the Lampedusa Cross from the British Museum to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, which will be on display from 10 September until 5 December.
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The exhibition Crossings: community and refuge, includes the cross (a British Museum Spotlight Loan), which was made by Francesco Tuccio, alongside the work Dark Water, Burning World by Syrian artist Issam Kourbaj, an installation of 1,000 miniature boats made from recycled bicycle mudguards, jam-packed with upright spent matches.
Supported by the Refugee Buddy Project and led by Helen Dodaki, an artist with refugee experience, the exhibition will also include work made in workshops for local refugee and migrant families earlier this year at the museum.
Hastings Community of Sanctuary is part of the national City of Sanctuary network. The network’s vision is for the UK to be a welcoming place of safety for all.