Empowering refugee artists through music and culture

Refugee Week is coming up from 16 to 22 June with the focus on ‘Finding Freedom: Family’ and celebrating unconditional love and strength in times of adversity.

To celebrate, not-for-profit refugee services organisation Settlement Services International (SSI) is hosting the Spirit of Welcome Community Festival in Lilyfield, NSW featuring a lineup of creative practitioners who contribute to the cultural and artistic fabric of their new homes.

The free, family-friendly event features cross-cultural experiences, performances, food and workshops; 80% of artists and collaborators are from a refugee background. Their participation is supported and remunerated with industry rates, helping facilitate a financially sustainable ecosystem for arts and cultural practices.

Performers include SSI’s refugee band who communicate through music despite linguistic barriers, some of whom have arrived in Australia from Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

For them, the Spirit of Welcome Community Festival is not only a safe and empowering platform at which to perform, but one that can help propel their creative careers.

SSI’s Community Refugee Welcome Centre has worked together with the Inner West Council to encourage active participation in the event from local and diverse communities. The Centre supports new arrivals from humanitarian backgrounds by connecting them with established locals to make them feel safe and welcome.

Read: Over 50 pages of art – each for $100

In addition to the lineup of Festival events on 16 June, SSI Arts & Culture in collaboration with Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre (BEMAC) and CuriousWorks will present the Homelands Regional Arts Tour from 17 to 28 June.

The free roadshow is open to the public, with visual arts exhibitions, live performances and music programed at Sydney Opera House, Coffs Harbour and in Brisbane.

Audiences can expect a multimedia exhibition, photography, painting, spoken word poetry, artist talks and more. These works will highlight the lived experiences of refugees and help facilitate understanding through storytelling.

A special component of Homelands 2024 is The Path Within, a showcase of artworks by established refugee artists who have been part of a collaborative artistic pathway between SSI Arts and Culture and CuriousWorks.

More details on the dates and venues for the Homelands Regional Arts Tour 2024 can be found here.