Letters of Refuge, the new exhibition presented at King’s, gives voice to those at two points in history who have experienced persecution and displacement. On display in The Arcade, Bush House from 13 March, fragments of ancient letters preserving the voices of people who lived under the Roman empire are exhibited alongside contemporary letters written at Art Refuge’s ‘The Community Table’ in Folkestone, Kent, and Calais, northern France by people who are displaced and seeking safety on either side of the English Channel.

Illustrating how much the ancient and modern worlds have to say to each other and juxtaposing letters from multiple voices past and present, Letters of Refuge is a collaboration between the Department of Classics and the Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies at King’s, King’s Culture, the charity Art Refuge and people with lived experience of displacement.

The exhibition finds its origins in the research of Dr James Corke-Webster, from King’s Departments of Classics and Liberal Arts. Dr Corke-Webster’s work explores the experience of persecution and displacement in the ancient world, revealing its neglected social dimensions, including family ruptures, local betrayals and community ostracism on the one hand, and group support and resilience on the other.

 

 

Letters of Refuge is supported by the Department of Classics, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and King’s Culture, as well as the Institute of Classical Studies at the School of Advanced Study of the University of London.