Traces of Displacement

This exhibition uses the Whitworth’s collection to address one of the major humanitarian concerns of the 20th and 21st centuries – forced displacement. In tracing displacement within the collection, a partial, fragmentary, and yet compelling set of stories is emerging from academic and community collaboration. Traces of Displacement uncovers stories of persecution, creativity, and resilience, and the experiences of artists and makers who were displaced in their homelands, forced to flee, survived, and even thrived in exile.

Artists include Mounira al Solh, Otti Berger, Leilah Babiyre, Caroline Walker, Safdar Ahmed, Bashir Makhoul, Frank Brangwyn, Cornelia Parker, Mandla Rae, Raisa Kabir, Dusan Kusmic, Ian Rawlinson, Cecily Brown, Charles Green and Lyndell Brown, Francesco Simeti, Lucien Freud, Marc Chagall, Mary Kessell, Edward Bawden, James McBey, and Frank Auerbach amongst others.

Traces of Displacement is part of a major AHRC-funded (Arts and Humanities Research Council) research project: Understanding Displacement Aesthetics led by Professor Ana Carden Coyne with Dr. Chrisoula Lionis and Dr. Angeliki Roussou.

Download the Traces of Displacement exhibition guide

7 April 2023 – May 2024

#TracesOfDisplacement

Image: Mounira al Solh, I Strongly Believe in the Right to be Frivolous, 2012-ongoing. Courtesy of the artist.