As part of the LIBERTY EU programme, led by ArtReach, artists based in the UK and Europe are invited to apply for a collaborative visual mentorship programme, LOOK UP, a key element of Journeys Festival International, the annual festival produced by ArtReach, which returns in October 2021.

ArtReach with partners, Aspex Gallery (Portsmouth, UK) and coculture (Berlin, Germany), will support artists who have experience of the UK or European immigration system, or are from sanctuary seeking or refugee heritage backgrounds, to create new visual artworks that will be exhibited across Leicester, Manchester and Portsmouth city centres as part of the festival.

LOOK UP aims to develop young artists to artistically respond to their new surroundings and confidently share their experiences with others. Mentors from established arts professionals will help them to develop their practice and create new work that is of a significant scale.

Previous iterations of LOOK UP at Journeys Festival International include: Italian-Belgian artist Sibomana, Iranian photographer Farhad Berahman, Saatchi Gallery artist-in-residence Kate Daudy and British Turner Prize nominee Mark Titchner.

Artists will attend two short, intensive residencies that will be designed to explore and exchange ideas, skills and global perspectives.

Young artists from sanctuary seeking backgrounds have the additional opportunity of applying to be the Lead Artist for the ArtReach-produced, Your City Is A World Of Its Own. The new project, developed in partnership with front-line charities supporting unaccompanied minors, will create a digital and explorative journey through the city, investigating places, people, cultures and stories that are important to them.

This Creative Europe funded project for Liberty EU is a city-wide experience in Leicester, Manchester and Portsmouth. The Lead Artist will work with Outreach Facilitators in the cities who have been leading creative workshops for young unaccompanied asylum seekers in partnership with British Red Cross (Portsmouth), After18 (Leicester) and The Hope Project (Manchester).

The artist will work in collaboration with mentor, Rosie Poebright, Creative Director of Splash and Ripple, to develop the work. ArtReach will be seeking an additional technical partner to support the artist.

For further details on both these opportunities, please read more on the Journeys Festival International website.