Sanctuary & Sustenance – Southwark Culture Together Project Sanctuary and Sustenance Project (July 2025-March 2026) For the end of Sanctuary Project 2026 InspiralLondon hosts a: “The desert is up ahead” – Salon Night for Refuge/ees fundraiser: A Salon Gathering that celebrates and supports the contribution of migrants and refugees, to Southwark, London, UK and Europe with an evening of readings, poetry, music and song. To raise funds for SDCAS and to support the refugee walks/community work of InspiralLondon CIC and other refugee charities. This evening is a collaboration between InspiralLondon, this Happy Band, SDCAS and guest artists inspired by Persian Poets and mystiques. An evening to celebrate resilience and to support all victims of war. A rich outpouring of entertainment and cultural exchange after the auction – with poetry, song, food and other refreshments –including hibiscus cordial, rum bissop, & persian foods. These small gestures, part of sustenance… see events for more info and tickets: HERE In the context of the recent collapse of Assad’s regime in 2024: “3,838 Syrians granted protection in the 12 months to this September, almost all (3,788 or 99%) were granted refugee status. Overall, 52,739 people were granted protection or another type of leave in the UK in the 12 months to September 2024. Syrians accounted for 7.3% of this total (3,838), ranking fifth in size behind Iran (9,468 or 18.0%), Afghanistan (6,894 or 13.1%), Iraq (4,723 or 9.0%) and Sudan (4,005 or 7.6%).” (The Independent newspaper – Tuesday 10 December 2024) One quarter of the Syrian population have been displaced by the war. One in six refugees worldwide are Syrian. By the end of 2024, the number of Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers stood at 6.1 million, with an additional 7.4 million internally displaced. Nearly 80 percent of Syrian refugees are hosted in neighboring countries, including Türkiye (2.9 million), Lebanon (755,000) and Jordan (611,000). We can only imagine the numbers of refugees and displaced people being created in the current wars…. And in this madness of war nothing and no one is inoculated from the destructive fever… The war in Sudan triggered one of the world’s largest displacement crises. By the end of 2024, a total of 14.3 million people—a third of the nation’s population—was displaced.( https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/ ) The UK is home to approx. 1% of the 27.1 million refugees who were forcibly displaced across the world. 69% of all refugees and other people in need of international protection come from just five countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine and South Sudan. ‘In Europe alone it is estimated as many as 65 million people were forced from their homes by the war including those used as slave labour by the Nazis, ex-Prisoners of War, and the millions of citizens whose homes had been bombed and shelled and who had fled advancing armies. In 1943 United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was founded to “plan, co-ordinate, administer… measures for the relief of victims of war in any area under the control of any of the United Nations through the provision of food, fuel, clothing, shelter and other basic necessities, medical and other essential services.” (https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/ ) From 1939-1942 many Europeans fled to North Africa –as ‘World War II was ravaging Europe. We know that thousands of Polish people found a safe haven in British colonial Africa.” See https://africasacountry.com/about The UK initiated World Refugee Year (1959-1960), which was soon adopted by the United Nations. The idea was that a world-wide humanitarian effort should be made to bring the refugee problem in Europe, as well as newer refugee situations in the Middle East and Asia, to a close, particularly those who fell outside the criteria for a ‘refugee’ in UNHCR’s convention.’ https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-happened-to-people-displaced-by-the-second-world-war (The Imperial War Museum website) Sanctuary and Sustenance offers three new unique walking events celebrating the rich contributions of migrant communities within Southwark. Expect to be surprised, engaged and entertained! These unique walks are supported by Southwark Council’s Culture Together Fund. Launched at the end of October, free for Southwark Residents, the season of walks starts with Small Traces… Walks will be rerun in 2026 (January-March) To read about the project please go HERE In October InspiralLondon launched a series of unique walk events celebrating the contribution of the Global Majority to Southwark’s diverse communities. These walks explored both known and hidden histories of Global Majority presence with a connection to the Borough of Southwark. For the first series of walks artist Tara Fatehi, dancer Ranjini Nair and Natalie Worgs Girls about Peckham offered participants and the walkers a rich variety of story and experience, as we explored Southwark together. Each of the areas they explored have undergone radical change and the walks highlighted the global, national and local implications of cultural exchange, in confronting exploitation, erasure and in/visibility. In doing this the walks celebrated the visibility of forgotten communities and individuals, focusing on the contribution of local communities, shopkeepers, businesses, charities, grassroots role in creating a vibrant living Borough of Sanctuary. In September we were able to share Remiiya’s Badru’s walk (commissioned by Inspiral in Spring 2025) with our new associate artists. Sharing our experiences, research and ideas is crucial to InspiralLondon’s ethos, as is dialogue and discussion with all participants. For each walk the audience was invited to join in activity and contribute their voices to understanding the Borough’s rich diversity and living history: During Small Traces sharing South Indian Dance gestures in Newington Gardens and then writing a postcard to London by Southwark Heritage Centre; for Tracing Peckham making rubbings and tracings of walk into North Peckham Estate, then sitting and talking in Persepolis Café while looking at photographs of Peckham taken in in 1970’s and 80’s; for Living Legacies sharing with locals and outsiders the experience of living in Peckham over the last 30 plus years, then sitting in Peckham Rye Market and contributing to Girls about Peckham Living Legacies Zine. Feedback from the walks was universally positive and each of the walks complimented the other two. For Small Traces: “The event was fascinating introducing lots of layers of connections between Britain and South Asia. Loved it all and Ranjini was brilliant.” ‘How engaging and friendly the discourse was.” “Liked the mixture of bustling London and Parks where I felt we entered Southwark Sanctuary spots. On the walk there was great formation of community and a chance to have conversations about not only the past but the current colonial situation. How history echoes the now.” “Small Traces” meeting at London Bridge Approx 2 hours long finishing near to Elephant & Castle underground/overground stations. An urban exploration that retells the colonial history between Britain and South Asia as we pay attention to place names, ghost signs and historical figures that populated Southwark. Starting near the river we follow the traces of the first Indian temple dancers brought to London, who stepped off their boat at London Bridge, as we weave our way to Elephant & Castle. We were delighted that Ranjini Nair used images and research from Southwark Archives, Tara Fatehi images and information from her residency with Theatre Peckham and Natalie Worgs, her living archive created with Girls about Peckham, as well as material from Elim House. “Tracing Peckham” meeting at Peckham Rye Station exit Join artist and Peckham resident Tara Fatehi for a sensorial walk through the streets (and backstreets) of Peckham. Together we’ll explore the neighbourhood’s multicultural life, exchange songs and poetry, and through change, demolitions, and what remains. Along the way, we’ll connect the histories of North Peckham with the rhythms of Rye Lane, recall a demolished mural, and reflect on the Five Estates. Through words, songs, and listening, we’ll feel the sensations of the neighbourhood. Tracing Peckham: “Very positive –learning more about the neighbourhood that I live in and being able to notice new things on my everyday routes and learn more about the cultural history they reveal.” “I liked how different it was from the usual walking tours, in terms of seeing the local places and getting interesting info in just the perfect amount of detail (not too little and not too much).” “It was very informative. I have lived around Peckham for 10 years and I learnt a lot of things I didn’t know about. It was great to see Peckham through Tara’s eyes. And it made me more connected to my neighbourhood.” “Loved elements of spontaneity within the walk – the autonomy of how you want to experience the walk, what you wish to take in…” “Living Legacies” meeting at Peckham Peckham Rye Station Exit Natalie Worgs the Mother of gIRLS aBOUT pECKHAM, creates a cultural walk from hidden stories and living legacies of Peckham. The walk will map around murals, markets and more, things that keep Peckham alive, highlighting the stories of Black and underrepresented Women and elders. Expect an opportunity to make your own mini zine of the experience along the way! “A very human glimpse of the history of Peckham – very explorative, stimulating and informative.” “Offered a unique perspective on an area I thought I knew well”. “I liked learning about Peckham’s history on foot – pockets of spaces I wouldn’t have visited alone. In Choumert Square and hearing from resident Charlie was an unexpected highlight. Very warm and enjoyable despite the rain.” Please visit inspiral events for updated info: https://www.inspirallondon.com/events/ or subscribe to our newsletter here Tickets available from end December 2025 InspiralLondon is delighted to be supported by Southwark Council’s Culture Together Fund to continue developing and researching these new set of walk events for October 2025, and develop the leadership of our dynamic arts organisation. These walks celebrate the contribution of Global Majority communities, to Southwark’s unique diversity, to its evolving history and culture. Working with local artists Tara Fatei, Ranjini Nair and Natalie Worgs, theatre artist Frances Calliste will co-curate this mini-festival of new public walks centred around Peckham and other areas of Southwark linked to the artists’ research. For this extended project InspiralLondon builds from recent walks made for Songlines for Greenwich project (January 2025-July 2025) and the exciting collaborations with new associate artists: Frances Calliste, Bonita Charles and Remiiya Badru. Including showcasing walks that explore known and hidden histories of black presence with a connection to Southwark. Mishandled Archive by Tara Fatehi at Peckham Rye Park, photo by Jemima Yong. Sanctuary and Sustenance is supported by Southwark Council Southwark Together grant, with additional support of tfl WCGL 2025/26, InspiralLondon Associate Artists. local businesses and local partners:
