ASSEMBLE connects artists whose practice has been disrupted by forced migration and organisations that promote human rights to address the inequalities they face. 

By the end of 2022, over 108 million people globally were displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations with a noted increase in those displaced due to the climate crisis. 35 million sought refuge in another country, and in 2022 Cyprus had the European Union’s highest percentage, per-population, of people seeking asylum.

Working with studios supporting artists in exile and civil society organisations in Cyprus and internationally, ASSEMBLE will share best practice and learning to enable the sector to better support artists with lived experience of displacement.

The project began with a research visit to studio space arthereistanbul in Turkey where D6:EU directors and organisations from France, Jordan and the UK took part in knowledge sharing workshops. 

Following this, our partner arthereistanbul curated Belonging, an exhibition of 11 artists selected from a global open call earlier this year. Belonging launches online on 18 December 2023. 

In March 2024 the exhibition will travel to Cyprus. Produced by D6:EU, ASSEMBLE is hosted by the Goethe Institut in Nicosia, and includes international conversations about working with artists in exile and a live showcase of the artworks produced for Belonging.

ASSEMBLE is a partnership between D6:EU, D6 Culture in Transit and the Cyprus Refugee Council (CyRC), the first NGO in Cyprus to focus on refugees, asylum seekers, detainees and trafficking victims.

Image: Presentation by Belonging artist Amak Mahmoodian