Art by asylum-seeking children to go on show

Entry to the exhibition, which runs to 16 June, is free

Artworks created by young asylum seekers and refugees being accommodated in Kent are set to go on display at a gallery in Margate.

The exhibition, called 'Leave to Remain' - after the Home Office term for the immigration status which grants permission to stay in the UK - will open at the Carl Freedman Gallery on 14 April.

It follows a collaboration between local artist Jose Campos, who grew up as an undocumented migrant in the United States, and the Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN).

Mr Campos said the project was intended to give children a creative opportunity "to express themselves", because doing that as a child helped "transform" his life.

Works by teenagers from countries including Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iran and Sudan were created during workshops by Mr Campos at the KRAN's Canterbury and Folkestone hubs, as well as at the gallery.

The former secondary school art teacher, who fled El Salvador at the age of four, moved to the UK at 19.

He said free dance lessons he had as a child provided him with a "safe space" where he felt "celebrated for being creative", while he was living with the threat of deportation.

Mr Campos said he asked children to explore issues they faced "without asking [them] to relive their trauma"

Mr Campos, whose working name is Studio Lenca, said the exhibition would draw on the "proximity" of Margate to rising numbers of small-boat Channel crossings.

Featured works include an installation titled 'Dreamland', in a nod both to Margate's amusement park and to children imagining "a place for themselves".

KRAN Activities and Wellbeing Coordinator, Osama Sharkia, said the workshops had "empowered" participants to "express themselves and build confidence".

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