Seeking Refuge

Seeking Refuge is a creative, collaborative project founded by Caroline Beale Johnson in 2020. It shares the hidden voices of people who have been forced to flee their homes, working closely with those seeking asylum in the UK and people who have settled in Bournemouth.

With support and funding through BEAF Arts Co, what began as a photography and storytelling project has grown into weekly workshops in photography, textiles and music, alongside film screenings. The project has also developed a touring exhibition of installations, portraits, and a companion book of first thoughts, with the artworks commissioned by BEAF Arts Co. These creative works create powerful spaces for reflection on arrival, belonging and community.

Through artworks such as The Stories We Thread and A Seat at the Table, Seeking Refuge invites audiences to see migration not from afar, but from the inside, through the creativity, resilience and lived experiences of those who have sought safety here.