Arts organisation of sanctuary award
D6 is delighted to be recognised as a Visual Arts Organisation of Sanctuary by City of Sanctuary UK.
We are deeply committed to supporting artists seeking sanctuary and helping make arts and culture in the North East of England welcoming and inclusive.
As recipients of the award, we join in a shared vision of welcome and solidarity, underlain by resistance to the scapegoating and racism in parts of our communities today.
The hostile environment is a distressing and racist reality. Far-right political parties, individuals and media are urging civil unrest in the name of patriotism, stoking division and blaming people who are migrants and refugees for systemic problems made by governments over decades.
We are committed to countering this divisive narrative by building long-lasting relationships with artists, creating opportunities for learning and exchange, and shaping our programme in light of the shared journeys we take together. We give our heartfelt thanks to them for generously sharing their artistic practice, research and ideas: creating important moments to foster wider understanding of the cultural diversity of the society we all live in and their own lived experiences.
The support we give to artists is bespoke, long-lasting and far-ranging - for example, beyond hosting artist residencies in our studios, offering capacity building programmes and showcasing their work, linking artists to other organisations or applying for emergency funds for artists at-risk.
One artist we had the privilege of working with is Sadia Sikandar. Her residency at D6 in 2020 played a vital role in her professional development and campaigning work, leading to exhibitions in the North East and Glasgow, and expanding her practice to include teaching at Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art and displaying work as part of UNESCO’s Rila Spring School at the University of Glasgow.
Advocating for cultural rights and working in partnership is crucial to making sustainable change. We do this locally in the North East as co-founders of the Sanctuary and Culture Network; and internationally with partners in Cyprus, Jordan, Turkey and Ukraine, to name a few.
We are proud to be an arts organisation in Newcastle - a City of Sanctuary and to share our sanctuary status with others in the region. These include fellow arts organisations the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Company of Others, and all nine venues of North East Museums, as well as Newcastle University, Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle United Foundation, libraries and many of the region’s schools. And many other local organisations are working towards the award.
D6’s Director Clymene Christoforou says: ‘Receiving the City of Sanctuary award is an important recognition of our work supporting artists to continue their practice when there are so many barriers to navigate. The work of the City of Sanctuary and all those supporting displaced people is all the more vital when we are seeing increased targeting of sanctuary seekers by the far-right.’
Ashley Beckett from the City of Sanctuary says: ‘You have gone above and beyond to hold space and create programming that supports and allows for artists that have been displaced to create.’
City of Sanctuary UK’s aim is to build a more welcoming country for people rebuilding their lives in the UK, growing a network of welcome in every area and in every sector to encourage inclusivity, solidarity and compassion.
We would like to thank Dima Karout, Lucy Nychai and Sadia Sikandar - who shared their experiences of working with D6 as part of the application for the award.
Find out more about City of Sanctuary here: https://cityofsanctuary.org/
If you are concerned about racist and anti-asylum activity, the following offer information and support
Hope Not Hate: https://hopenothate.org.uk/
The ‘Stand Up to Racism’ campaigning group: https://standuptoracism.org.uk/
Stop Funding Hate campaigning group: https://stopfundinghate.info/
Youtube’s policy on hate speech: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801939?hl=en&ref_topic=9282436&sjid=8702606157318653461-EU
For support on the asylum process
The Right to Remain toolkit offers information and support for people going through the asylum and immigration system: https://righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/
We are deeply committed to supporting artists seeking sanctuary and helping make arts and culture in the North East of England welcoming and inclusive.
As recipients of the award, we join in a shared vision of welcome and solidarity, underlain by resistance to the scapegoating and racism in parts of our communities today.
The hostile environment is a distressing and racist reality. Far-right political parties, individuals and media are urging civil unrest in the name of patriotism, stoking division and blaming people who are migrants and refugees for systemic problems made by governments over decades.
We are committed to countering this divisive narrative by building long-lasting relationships with artists, creating opportunities for learning and exchange, and shaping our programme in light of the shared journeys we take together. We give our heartfelt thanks to them for generously sharing their artistic practice, research and ideas: creating important moments to foster wider understanding of the cultural diversity of the society we all live in and their own lived experiences.
The support we give to artists is bespoke, long-lasting and far-ranging - for example, beyond hosting artist residencies in our studios, offering capacity building programmes and showcasing their work, linking artists to other organisations or applying for emergency funds for artists at-risk.
One artist we had the privilege of working with is Sadia Sikandar. Her residency at D6 in 2020 played a vital role in her professional development and campaigning work, leading to exhibitions in the North East and Glasgow, and expanding her practice to include teaching at Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art and displaying work as part of UNESCO’s Rila Spring School at the University of Glasgow.
Advocating for cultural rights and working in partnership is crucial to making sustainable change. We do this locally in the North East as co-founders of the Sanctuary and Culture Network; and internationally with partners in Cyprus, Jordan, Turkey and Ukraine, to name a few.
We are proud to be an arts organisation in Newcastle - a City of Sanctuary and to share our sanctuary status with others in the region. These include fellow arts organisations the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Company of Others, and all nine venues of North East Museums, as well as Newcastle University, Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle United Foundation, libraries and many of the region’s schools. And many other local organisations are working towards the award.
D6’s Director Clymene Christoforou says: ‘Receiving the City of Sanctuary award is an important recognition of our work supporting artists to continue their practice when there are so many barriers to navigate. The work of the City of Sanctuary and all those supporting displaced people is all the more vital when we are seeing increased targeting of sanctuary seekers by the far-right.’
Ashley Beckett from the City of Sanctuary says: ‘You have gone above and beyond to hold space and create programming that supports and allows for artists that have been displaced to create.’
City of Sanctuary UK’s aim is to build a more welcoming country for people rebuilding their lives in the UK, growing a network of welcome in every area and in every sector to encourage inclusivity, solidarity and compassion.
We would like to thank Dima Karout, Lucy Nychai and Sadia Sikandar - who shared their experiences of working with D6 as part of the application for the award.
Find out more about City of Sanctuary here: https://cityofsanctuary.org/
If you are concerned about racist and anti-asylum activity, the following offer information and support
Hope Not Hate: https://hopenothate.org.uk/
The ‘Stand Up to Racism’ campaigning group: https://standuptoracism.org.uk/
Stop Funding Hate campaigning group: https://stopfundinghate.info/
Youtube’s policy on hate speech: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801939?hl=en&ref_topic=9282436&sjid=8702606157318653461-EU
For support on the asylum process
The Right to Remain toolkit offers information and support for people going through the asylum and immigration system: https://righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/
