In 2017, The Art House became the UK’s first Studio of Sanctuary, recognising our commitment to creating a place of welcome for artists and people seeking sanctuary. In 2023, we were also recognised as a Gallery of Sanctuary, reflecting our growing commitment to championing artists with lived experience of displacement, exile, asylum and sanctuary through our exhibitions and wider artistic programme.
Our Sanctuary work is a direct expression of The Art House’s Vision, Mission and Values. We believe creativity belongs to everyone, but recognise that access to the arts, creative opportunities and cultural spaces is not equal. Through our Studio and Gallery of Sanctuary commitments, we put our values of Equity, Access and Belonging, Creativity for All, Community and Connection, and Courage and Care into practice. We remove barriers to creative participation, create supported pathways for artists, bring people together through shared making and conversation, and create spaces where people can feel welcome, represented and able to take part on their own terms.
Our approach is rooted in welcome, creativity and connection. At its heart, this work reflects our vision of a fairer and more inclusive world, where creativity is a shared language that can bring people together across different backgrounds, identities and experiences, creating opportunities to meet, share skills, build friendships and feel part of the wider community.
Supporting artists seeking sanctuary
Artists are at the heart of The Art House, and a central part of our Sanctuary work is supporting artists and creatives who have experienced seeking safety and sanctuary, forced displacement, or are navigating the asylum system.
Through our Studio of Sanctuary studio bursaries, artists can access free studio space alongside tailored professional and practical support. We work with each artist as an individual, recognising that rebuilding a creative practice, professional networks and a sense of stability in a new country takes time.
Since 2017, we have supported many artists with free studios and help to rebuild portfolios that were left behind. The length of the support and bespoke mentor programme are determined by the needs of the artists, but usually last 3-4 years; we do not put a fixed end on it. We also actively support artists, creatives and community members through the rigours of the asylum process, supporting them with legal assistance and mounting campaigns to prevent deportations. We are there for the difficult times as well as the celebratory times.
Our relationships don’t simply end when someone leaves their studio. We continue to provide mentoring, professional development, opportunities and connections as artists establish and develop their practice in the UK. This long-term approach has supported artists to rebuild portfolios, develop professional networks, exhibit their work and continue their careers.
A creative place of welcome
Wakefield is home to one of the UK’s major Initial Accommodation centres for people seeking asylum, and throughout the year, we provide free creative opportunities where people seeking sanctuary and the wider Wakefield community can spend time together, make, talk and learn from one another.
Our regular activities include free, relaxed weekly creative conversation sessions, alongside other artist-led workshops and projects across ceramics, printmaking, photography and other creative practices. You don’t need to consider yourself an artist, speak perfect, or any, English or have any previous creative experience to take part. These are welcoming spaces where creativity provides a shared language.
Bringing communities together
Our Sanctuary programme isn’t about creating separate activities for separate communities. We believe creativity is most powerful when it creates opportunities for people who might otherwise never meet to spend time together. Through workshops, exhibitions, artist commissions, Refugee Week activity, celebrations and collaborative projects, we create spaces where people can share experiences and cultures, develop relationships and challenge assumptions about migration and displacement. Thousands of people engage with our Sanctuary-related creative activity each year, making it an important part of our wider work across Wakefield.
We know that meaningful sanctuary work can’t happen in isolation. The Art House works closely with organisations supporting refugees and people seeking asylum across Wakefield and the wider region. We also bring organisations together through the Wakefield Strategic Sanctuary Network, helping partners share knowledge, identify emerging needs and strengthen support across the city. Our partnerships connect the arts with organisations working across accommodation, migration, health, community development and refugee support. This means our creative programme can respond to what people actually need, rather than assuming we already know.
Learn, Embed and Share
Our work is guided by the City of Sanctuary principles of Learn, Embed and Share.
For us, that means sanctuary isn’t the responsibility of one project or one member of staff. We work to embed welcome and inclusion throughout The Art House, from our exhibitions and artist development to our building, partnerships, staff development and the everyday experience of walking through our doors. We continue to listen, learn and change our practice as the needs of the people and communities around us change. This commitment involves staff, trustees, studio holders, artists, volunteers and partners. Everyone who contributes to The Art House has a role in creating a culture of welcome, dignity and inclusion.
Everyone deserves somewhere they can feel welcome, safe, creative and connected. We want The Art House to be one of those places
Gallery of Sanctuary
Becoming a Gallery of Sanctuary extended our commitment beyond studio provision and free workshops, into our exhibitions, residencies, commissions, audiences and curatorial practice.
We believe cultural organisations have a responsibility to consider who has historically been excluded from opportunities to make, exhibit and experience art. Our artistic programme creates meaningful opportunities for artists who have traditionally been marginalised, including artists with lived experience of the asylum process or forced displacement, supporting them to develop their practice, build professional networks and sustain their careers.
Our ambition is not simply to present work by artists with lived experience of seeking sanctuary, but to help address barriers within the visual arts and contribute to greater representation across the wider cultural sector. Many of the creatives we have worked with identify The Art House as a place where they have been able to restart their professional artistic lives. Central to this is artist agency. We recognise that an artist’s immigration history should not automatically define how they or their work are presented or interpreted. Artists determine how their experiences are shared, and their work is given the space to be understood on its own terms.
Mohamad Hafeda: The Time While Waiting, 27 May 2023-24 June 2023
Mohammad Barrangi: Dreamland, 30 March 2022-5 June 2022
Fotohane x The Art House, 20 June 2026-19 December 2026
The Art House is part of Welcome to Wakefield, a city-wide initiative helping people seeking sanctuary discover places where they are welcomed and can connect with their new community.
Through the Welcome to Wakefield Card, people can visit us for a free hot drink, use our Wi-Fi and join our free creative sessions.
Freedom Festival, September 2025
Kadir Karababa: One Song, 20 June 2026-30 September 2026
Manish Harijan: Untouchable Utopia 01 March 2025–24 April 2025
