sanctuary and culture network

Committed to making arts and culture in the North East  welcoming and inclusive for people with lived experience of displacement, we bring together people and partners to collectively take action.

The Sanctuary and Culture network is made up of individuals, voluntary and refugee-led organisations, cultural workers, academia and local authorities. We regularly meet to share knowledge, and understand areas of connection and need. This helps us collectively strengthen welcome and access to the arts and culture, and create sustainable opportunities for people resettling or temporarily living in the region.

Now in its fourth year, we are a diverse network of over 60 people and organisations. The network is jointly coordinated by D6, North East Museums and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.  Everyone is welcome.

Join the Network and google group

MaterialS bursaries

We hold quarterly network meetings, as well as training and learning sessions.  We also keep in touch via a Google group.  To find out when the next meeting is  or join the Google group please email [email protected].

​We support artists with small bursaries providing access to materials to continue their practice.   To find out more email as at  [email protected].

International migrants day

People around the world mark International Migrants Day each year on 18 December. We take this moment to celebrate with our communities and artists,  fostering empathy and understanding and offering a shared sense of community. 

​NATIONAL PLEDGE TO SUPPORT THOSE SEEKING SANCTUARY

In solidarity with people seeking sanctuary in the UK, D6 has signed a national pledge to defend the right to seek safety from war and persecution in the UK. ​

Read about some of our earlier initiatives working with our sector to support people seeking sanctuary in the North East.

Network Training, 2021

D6 invited individuals working across the North East cultural sector to participate in a bespoke training programme focussed on asylum law, support and creating environments of care.

Co-designed and facilitated by the  West End Refugee Service, the training programme helped participants build their knowledge and understanding of the constructs and day to day realities of the UK’s immigration system. It provided space for a shared and deep consideration of practice, process and behaviours in the cultural sector that uphold systems of oppression and inequalities, and aspired to instigate change.

The sessions included Busting Myths around Asylum, Understanding Asylum Law and Reform, Understanding Asylum Support, and Creating environments of care through deep listening, empathy and understanding where the boundaries lie. This training is an ongoing area of work across the Sanctuary and Culture programme.

Growing our studio of sanctuary, 2020

As part of D6's renovations and with the generous support of volunteers and donations of equipment and money, we built a new studio and we also created a kitchen.  A warm and welcoming space to share food and company, a space to co-host friends and strangers, a space to cook together, to eat together, a space  to get to know each other.

In this space we now regularly invite artists, volunteers and partners to fuse culinary traditions, and experiment with ingredients as we aim for zero waste and locally sourced produce.  Here we recalibrate our connection to each other, taking time from our desks and studio practice to put the world to rights.

'A Little Help' Food Bank, 2020

During the time of COVID-19, D6 made a number of donations and volunteered time to a temporary volunteer run food bank serving individuals and families seeking asylum in Newcastle and Gateshead and led by Md Hamid (former D6 volunteer, Law Student and Activist) in response to COVID-19. We secured emergency funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation to extend this initiative and provide a monthly service between August-December 2020 to clients with no recourse to public funds. 

With the support of 118 volunteer hours and in collaboration with Curious Monkey Theatre, we shopped, packed and delivered food and sanitary parcels to 121 individuals and 89 families, with an additional donation of new winter clothing purchased for the West End Refugee Service to distribute. The food bank revealed challenges relating to the hostility and complexity of the immigration system, access to food bank provision and safeguarding in the context of the pandemic.