Going Places: New Faces, New Focus

Going Places is a landmark £5.36 million exhibition programme from Art Fund, the largest collaborative touring project of its kind that will see 20 museums across all four nations share their collections in a UK-wide celebration of art, heritage and community.

Launched with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Julia Rausing Trust, over the next five years networks of museums will co-create 12 major touring exhibitions, developed in collaboration with local communities. Each will bring new perspectives to museum collections, helping to tell stories that reflect the diversity and creativity of people and places.

One of these six networks – New Faces, New Focus – a partnership between Aberdeenshire Council, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Open Eye Gallery – is working in collaboration with refugees, asylum seekers and migrant communities across its three locations to co-produce their first exhibition, at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool in September 2026. The touring exhibition will bring together works from all three partner collections and archives alongside artworks created by community participants.

Working with socially engaged photographers, New Faces, New Focus explores the theme of journeys – from migration and exile to the milestones, traditions and celebrations that shape our lives. The project invites participants to tell their stories through meaningful, sustained engagement with collections and heritage.

Aberdeenshire Museum Service

Explaining their hopes for the project, Amy Miller, museums development co-ordinator at Aberdeenshire Council’s Museums Service says: “Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are viewed as being on the fringes of our society and are becoming increasingly politicised as a group.

“It is crucial for cultural institutions to be inclusive and give space to a range of voices, including those that are marginalised. The lived experience of each individual is unique, and how they might view our historic collections will be quite different from someone who is from the UK. Through this project, we hope our participants will have the opportunity to shape their own narratives through creative response, learn new skills around storytelling and exhibition development, and ultimately see their stories showcased to a UK-wide audience.”

For Amy and her colleagues, working with these community groups will help demonstrate the relevance of their collections and introduce fresh perspectives:  “This project will activate areas of our collections that have long lain dormant. At a time when, as a sector, we are increasingly pressured to prove value and impact, showing how relevant our collections can be when matched with creative insights from diverse communities will help us advocate for future investment in participatory practice.

“We also hope to show the plurality of meanings that can come from a single object or artwork and challenge the traditional curatorial voice that assigns a single narrative. Our collections are valuable resources to be rediscovered by involving as many people as possible in object-based storytelling.”

Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool

For socially engaged photographer Anoosh Ariamehr, who is working with Open Eye Gallery, photography provides a powerful way to explore identity and belonging. “Photography gives people a voice when words sometimes fall short. Many of the individuals I work with have experienced displacement, loss and resilience that can be difficult to express verbally, but through a photograph, they can reclaim their narrative and show the world how they see themselves rather than how others see them.”

As a former refugee now settled in the UK, Anoosh brings both lived experience and creative expertise: “I use photography to explore identity and belonging through socially engaged practice. Working with communities allows me to create spaces where people can express their lived experiences visually, fostering connection, agency, and hope.

“With the support of Open Eye Gallery, I am completing an MA in Socially Engaged Photography at the University of Salford, and I have worked with Knowsley Council on projects enabling me to reach wider audiences and participants through photography.”

For Anoosh, one of the most meaningful experiences has been helping participants tell their stories in their own voices: “I’ve learned that working solely with refugee and displaced communities is not enough. True impact comes when we bring them together with local communities. This shared space not only helps newcomers connect with their new home but enriches everyone’s understanding of one another. One of the most rewarding parts was helping participants from several countries tell their own stories during Refugee Week, in their own voices.”

Armagh County Museum

Ukrainian participant Inna is working with Armagh County Museum. She got involved with the project for the creative opportunity it offered: “What attracted me was that it was a creative project that didn’t require special skills or talent, and the meetings took place in the evenings after work. I was also drawn to the fact that the curators were artists, which gave me the chance to be part of a circle of creative people.”

Some objects in the collection have been particularly thought-provoking for Inna: “I am impressed by the combination of historical and modern exhibitions. I like painting, so I really enjoyed the last exhibition of paintings. I have always been interested in everyday objects, especially mirrors. It’s exciting to look at your reflection and realise that 100 years ago this mirror reflected a different life.”

New Faces, New Focus demonstrates how Going Places is empowering museums to work collaboratively, connect with new audiences and champion the role of collections in building stronger communities. As Art Fund continues to raise funds to unlock the full potential of the programme, Going Places is changing how museums share collections and engage new communities across the UK. The first exhibitions will open in spring next year. Find out more here.

Going Places is an Art Fund programme made possible with generous support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Julia Rausing Trust.