The Space Between
Photographic exhibition celebrates International Women’s Day...
To celebrate International Women’s Day on Thursday 8 March Birkbeck, University of London, in partnership with the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA) has commissioned a photographic exhibition by the artist Kay Goodridge.
The Space Between exhibition provides a space for four women academic refugees to tell their story and to explore and celebrate their identities as women, as academics, and as refugees from their own country and culture.
Each of the women was involved in education, law, women’s rights and politics before fleeing their home countries of Iraq, Burma and Burundi. Each turned to education to rebuild their lives. The exhibition highlights the courage of women who have defended their right to academic freedom, and to their rights as women. Many refugee academics, particularly women, face similar trials and tribulations in fleeing their countries due to victimisation and persecution by oppressive regimes and societies.
A private view of the exhibition marked the 100th International Women's Day on March 8, and was introduced by Professor Les Moran, Birkbeck's diversity champion, and Anne Lonsdale CBE, chair of CARA.
The project is part of Birkbeck’s equality and diversity campaign to promote understanding and awareness of issues surrounding tolerance and freedom from discrimination among its staff, students and the local community.
The exhibition is showing at the Wiener Library, 29 Russell Square until 23 March and in the foyer at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London as part of a collaborative exhibition running til July 2012.