Understanding and celebration

The new exhibition We all come from somewhere, explores the people, objects and stories that define welcome in the North East.

The exhibtion is co-curated by Newcastle University Early Career Researcher Sophie Ellis, who is studying for a PhD in Modern Languages. Her research looks at how art can facilitate welcome and led to her involvement in the show.

The exhibition spotlights the warm welcome that is offered by BALTIC and by organisations across the North East region. It shines a light on the people, practice and rituals that create a culture of welcome. Officially recognised as a Gallery of Sanctuary since 2022, Baltic embeds a culture of welcome and seeks to promote understanding and celebration of the ways which those people seeking sanctuary enrich our society. Newcastle University became a University of Sanctuary in 2021

“Whether local or international, human or non-human, we all came from somewhere, and we all deserve to feel welcome,” says Sophie. “Co-curating We all came here from somewhere has allowed me to bring my research to life, exploring how art can facilitate welcome in the real-life context of a world-leading arts institution.

“From collaborating with communities to commissioning artists, from designing the exhibition space to writing the interpretation, this process has been a learning curve at every stage and one of the highlights of my academic career thus far.”

A more welcoming world

We all came here from somewhere is an evolution of the relationships and ways of working which form part of Baltic’s ongoing community activities. Those activities are driven by the question: 'How can we be a good neighbour and support people seeking sanctuary to feel welcome and at home in the North East?'

The exhibition includes a series of newly commissioned portrait photographs by Kuba Ryniewicz, the video work Understanding the UK Asylum System: Myths and Realities, Tracy Affleck’s banner Together with Refugees, work by the North Tyneside Schools of Sanctuary, and videos and prints from Baltic’s Birds, Bees, Bikes and Trees project that invites all to consider a more welcoming world for humans, plants and animals alike.

The exhibition concludes with Asylum: A Long and Painful Process, Sadia Sikandar’s new series of photographic portraits created in collaboration with Walking With’s community group. Sikandar’s portraits - and the stories her subjects tell of the ways in which the asylum process has taken its toll on their lives – provide a harsh reminder to us all that 'welcome' remains a work in progress.

Press release adapted with thanks to BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art