UWE and BRAC Collaboration: Compassion and Belonging

BRAC is a collective of Bristol artists who are refugees and asylum seekers. BRAC exists to empower its members through art activity and generate cultural exchange with the Bristol community. The group includes men and women from  different parts of the world.

The creative collaboration in Bristol between UWE students and refugee/asylum seeker artists the Bristol Refugee Artists Collective (BRAC) started since 2019. Prior to lockdown in 2020, the group worked together in the studio but since the covid crisis the group continued to develop their artwork online despite challenging circumstances. The determination and commitment from  both Artists and students evidenced in their online exhibition during Bristol Refugee Festival in June 2020. This close partnership continued to flourish with support from UWE with their staff’s commitment and resources.

In 2023, UWE + BRAC collaborated under the theme” Compassion and Belonging”. The exhibition illustrated the work they produced together, individually and during workshops they delivered during 2023’s Bristol Refugee Festival.

This has been a rich venture where each have been able to exchange ideas and understanding, to share our past experiences and our passions through the arts. 

BRAC artists and UWE students have all benefitted from working together with UWE’s staff’s commitment and support of resources and materials. 

Please take a moment to come and join us celebrate our successful collaborative partnership where artists and students continue to flourish. 

All are welcome!

“I love creating art as it helps my mental and physical well-being.

Being creative helps me to express my emotions as a refugee artist. Our stories are not always understood.”  Sherin Ali, BRAC artist