Huck magazine

Belonging, an exhibition by the country’s leading refugee employment charity Breaking Barriers, celebrates the passions and pilgrimages of migrants in the UK. “For human beings, a sense of belonging isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. None of us can exist without it. We are social animals, and community is who we are.” Curator Juliet Stevenson is talking about Belonging, a new exhibition she has worked on with the country’s leading refugee employment charity Breaking Barriers. In it, seemingly everyday objects – like ankle bracelets, dancing shoes and earrings – transcend physicality to embody passions, pilgrimages and visions. “It was my idea for the refugees [all of whom are Breaking Barrier clients] to pick an item that expressed their identity,” she explains. “Refugees are often portrayed as this bulk feeble category; a poisonous media narrative that needs shifting.”