Creative storytelling workshop exploring migrant experiences of belonging, recognition, identity, barriers and imagining a different future
Migration and displacement can reshape much more than where we live or work. They can affect how we see ourselves, how our skills and experiences are recognised, whether we feel secure and valued, and what kind of future feels possible. Building on previous workshops exploring qualifications, underemployment, bureaucracy and barriers to leadership, this session creates a broader space for experiences that may fall between these categories.
Through collaborative storytelling, guided writing exercises and group discussion, participants will reflect on significant moments from their journeys — experiences of exclusion or discrimination, unexpected obstacles, encounters that opened doors, acts of solidarity, compromises, achievements and turning points.
The workshop will also explore the many forms of work and contribution that are often overlooked in traditional conversations about employment and economic participation. This may include care work, volunteering, informal employment, mutual aid, mentoring, translation, community organising and supporting others.
Participants will be invited to think about the knowledge and abilities they have carried with them, as well as the new skills they have developed through migration. What have you had to learn in order to navigate life here? What knowledge from previous professions, communities or places do you still carry? What strengths have you developed that may not be recognised by employers or institutions?
Alongside reflecting on these experiences, the workshop will turn towards the future. Together, we will imagine what meaningful inclusion could look like and what would need to change in workplaces, education, accreditation systems, immigration policies and public institutions for migrants’ knowledge, skills and potential to be fully recognised. Participants will also be invited to consider what opportunities they might pursue if existing barriers were removed, and what advice or knowledge they would want to pass on to someone arriving in similar circumstances today.
The workshop forms part of an ongoing storytelling series within Quiet Power: Migrant Voices for Economic Justice. By bringing together stories of structural barriers alongside stories of resourcefulness, solidarity, ambition and change, participants will contribute to a growing body of community-led evidence challenging simplified narratives about migrant experiences.
No previous writing experience is needed. This is a relaxed and welcoming space for reflection, creativity and shared discussion.
About the facilitator
Alicja Rogalska is an artist based in Berlin and London. Her research-led practice explores social structures and the political dimensions of everyday life through collaborative situations, performances, videos and installations that collectively imagine emancipatory futures. She has recently presented work at Zachęta National Art Gallery (Warsaw), n.b.k. (Berlin), Biennale Matter of Art (Prague), Videobrasil (São Paulo) and Manifesta 14 (Prishtina), among others. She is currently completing a PhD in the Art Department at Goldsmiths University of London.
Important information
This workshop is part of the Economic Justice project and the wider work of CEEus! Network — a growing network of migrants, community organisers, artists, professionals and activists strengthening migrant voices, leadership and collective action in the UK.
The workshop forms part of a wider series exploring migrant experiences of work, skills, labour precarity, economic exclusion, career progression, belonging and recognition in the UK.
Stories, reflections and quotes shared during the workshop may be used in anonymised form in a future exhibition, report or creative outputs as part of this project. Contributions will not be attributed to individuals, so please only share what you feel comfortable sharing in a group setting.
If you would like to connect with other migrants, migrant leaders, creatives, organisers and community members, find out more about our wider work, or become part of the network, you can learn more about CEEus! Migrant Network and join here: https://bit.ly/3hFwFwa
Project funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust.
If you have any questions, please contact us on community@centrala-space.org.uk.