Journeys Festival International Manchester

Journeys Festival International Manchester, 4–13 October 2019, free entry - Visit now

Journeys Festival International returns to Manchester again this October with another thoughtful programme which uses art to explore the refugee experience across a mixture of the city’s venues, with something for all ages.

Reckoning with Refugeedom by Mei Yuk Wong is one of this year’s Journeys Festival highlights. Responding to archive material discovered by a University of Manchester research project, Wong’s work shares the hidden voice of refugees in history, offering us the chance to consider their stories in relation to experiences today. Audiences are invited to contribute their own experiences and can do so on Thursday and Friday afternoons, as well as Saturdays from 26 September until 15 October at PS Mirabel, an artist-run project and exhibition space near Manchester Arena.

Head to Cathedral Gardens on Saturday 12 October for Journeys Live, a day of free family-friendly live entertainment. Emerging and established artists from across the world are set to keep Manchester on its toes dancing, with street food vendors aplenty to warm our bellies. Highlights include Gambian Kora Master Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh, the Women’s Unity Choir, Manchester International Roots Orchestra, pay-what-you-feel food from Sanctuary Kitchen and the opportunity to contribute to Isobel Tarr’s The Channel.

The Channel is on throughout the rest of the festival at People’s History Museum where you can send your messages via the installation to people currently detained in UK immigration centres. The Channel enables people in Manchester to connect with people indefinitely detained via what looks like an old fashioned phone box. As well as sending messages, you can hear messages sent by real people in detention centres and respond with your thoughts and questions.

Another Journeys must-see is This Garden of Ours at Manchester Museum. This collaborative art project explores stories and links between the migration of plants and humans across the planet. This Garden of Ours is an installation made from handmade pottery, self-portrait photography and other interpretations, which create a garden of Eden that we all desire.

Produced by ArtReach, Journey’s is developed with artists, communities, charities and venues to help us better connect with the refugee experience. There are plenty of things to see and do over the ten days and we highly recommend that you check them out.