The Habibi Project 

Diaries x Nottingham Contemporary

2018

Diaries is a series of first-hand accounts from migrants, refugees and volunteers, creatively interpreted by artists from across the world.

These personal stories are an opportunity for migrants and refugees to dictate the narrative which they are so often the subjects of, and for volunteers working among these groups to share their experiences. The hope is to add a level of proximity to issues affecting people in a seemingly different world to ourselves.

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Accompanying each diary entry is an artwork or object created or chosen by an artist in response to the written piece. Viewers are invited to explore the artwork in conjunction with the diary entries; for this purpose, stools have been provided for your comfort to be able to sit and read.
Including voices from Afghanistan, Congo, Eritrea, Greece, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Nepal, Sudan, Syria and the UK, the pieces serve as a reminder of the human face behind the migration ‘crisis’ as well as its diverse and complex nature. 
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These are not generic representations, but the voices of individuals who have faced a unique set of circumstances contributing to who and where they are today. Voices in which we can nonetheless recognise ourselves and our shared humanity, through our understanding of what it is both to fear and to love; to struggle and to overcome; to despair and to dream.