The Refugee Academy offers an infrastructure for connecting existing academic, professional and practical knowledge to bring research and practice closer together. Collectively, these different forms of knowledge help people to think and reflect about the necessary societal conditions for making efforts towards integration inclusive in the long term. With its approach, the Refugee Academy makes it possible to establish unorthodox connections, whereby the learning and reflective capacities of people and organizations involved are increased and actions can be formulated.

LIMBO is a creative research collaboration between queer refugee community organizers/ artists, Framer Framed and Refugee Academy.

The metropolitan community of City Heights, San Diego is home to 95,000 residents from 70 countries living within approximately 6.5 square miles. Within this complex landscape, non-profit, ethnic- and community-based organizations, and highly engaged residents dedicate their expertise, experience, and passion to the community.

In South Africa, on 23 March 2020, the government opted for a strict lockdown, a change that impacted each and every aspect of daily life, including those related to food consumption and preparation. Supermarkets were controlled, most informal markets were closed, certain goods became unavailable, and hygiene measures were strengthened. On top of this, family incomes were (and still are) at stake, especially for those relying on informal sources of income, as is common for many African migrants in South Africa.

In the Netherlands, one of our researchers, Fabian Holle, is conducting research on the role of art practices in the lives of 10 LGBTQ+ artists with a forced migration background. Fabian Holle initiated this research project as a master student (supported by PhD researcher Maria Rast) and is now continuing it as a PhD candidate.