Moving Objects exhibition: Stories of Displacement

Today, around 68.5 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people are trapped in a state of temporary permanence across the world.

This free exhibition draws together poems, photographs and archival materials selected by people with experience of being displaced from their homes. Working closely with UCL researchers, people in London, Lebanon and Jordan chose objects that challenge public perceptions of what it means to be a refugee.

Free symposium and exhibition launch

Join creatives, academics and researchers to celebrate the exhibition and discuss the relationship between heritage, the arts and displacement: at a free symposium on Thursday 14 March. Find out more. 

The Octagon Gallery is a public space under UCL's iconic dome and hosts a programme that highlights the university's interdisciplinary, collaborative and participatory research.

Moving Objects: Stories of Displacement draws on UCL-based projects working with Refugee Hosts, UCL Migration Research Unit (UCL Geography), Forced Displacement and Cultural Interventions, and the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance in partnership with the Helen Bamber Foundation. The exhibition is jointly led by Dr Beverley Butler (UCL Institute of Archaeology), Professor Helen Chatterjee (UCL Biosciences), Alejandra Carles-Tolra and Jessy Boon Cowler (Helen Bamber Foundation, Photography Group) and Professor Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (UCL Geography). 

This exhibition is presented by UCL Culture and funded through the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies Small Grants Scheme, the UCL Grand Challenges Programme, and the Department of Geography.