COVID 19

Explore this website to understand what life is like during the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspectives of creative asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants in the UK and around the world.

Andrea, an 18-year old art student represents COVID19 quarantine with a photo called “Anguish”. Fleeing political persecution, she recently moved to the UK with her family from Venezuela.

There is a big ‘No’ to traditional European greetings such as hand shakes and hugs according to health instructions. Hence the Sri Lankan community was very excited about their traditional way of greeting ‘Ayubowan’ as it is very safe.

I decided to cut my own hair because the barber was closed, and I knew that if my hair grew, I would look bad and feel bad. I would feel ugly, I don’t want that. The lockdown affects me personally.

The family kept chickens during lockdown to give their children something to do and look after. Chicks were born. Eggs were hatched. Vegetables were also grown.

This picture symbolises what feels like a lifetime’s pursuit of freedom, despite the personal costs, and how nice it is to not walk this path alone. We took this photo on our first hike during semi-lockdown. It is a dedication to my quarantine-buddy!

Under lockdown cooking, artistically arranging, taking and sharing photos of home-made dishes has become a pleasurable pastime.

We are all in this together... the media keeps repeating that we're all in the same boat and this isn't quite right. The virus is impacting the lives of people differently and there is no point in denying this.

During those weeks, my books became my weapon to fight my boredom, anxiety, worries about the future and feelings of immobility. I used my plenty of time in doing the thing I love most - reading books.

If you think artists are useless try to spend quarantine without music, books, poems, movies and paintings.

Lockdown and other restrictions present an opportunity for the mainstream population to better understand the lives of asylum seekers and refugees, who have long since known confinement, isolation, fear of visible and invisible enemies, and uncertainty about what the future may bring. Their “small acts” of artistic and creative resistance, documented here, prove their resilience and show the power of solidarity. Together we continue chronicling the dark and lighter sides of Covid-19.