Salma Zulfiqar is an international artist and human rights activist working on migration. Her current creative projects, such as ARTconnects and The Migration Blanket, focus on empowering refugee and migrant women by promoting integration, peace, and tolerance to stop hate crimes and extremism.
As a British Citizen Award recipient, Zulfiqar, did things differently and included men in her migration aid drive. Almost 100 male asylum seekers and refugees living in Solihull, England have shared their experiences in a new exhibition. It tells stories of fleeing conflict and persecution as well as finding a new home and learning a new language. The project shows the men’s struggles, hopes, and dreams. This serves as a means to lift burdens for the refugees. The exhibition is due to open on the 19 of June which is World Refugee Day and will be running until the 25th of June at the Solihull Library.
The artwork documents the reasons behind the refugees leaving their homelands as well as their experiences while making new homes for themselves in the United Kingdom. Escaping war and terror, having seen bomb explosions, and having experienced violent death in front of them, these men are terrified and brave. To come to a place they do not know much about and start new lives while in some cases leaving family behind is a brave act. With that said, part of creating the art and exhibiting it is teaching the refugees about the land of their newfound homes. They get to learn about UK culture, music, food, entertainment, and sports.
Other than this project, Zulfiqar’s work has been exhibited during the Venice Biennale 2019 and in 2022 in Italy, London, Birmingham, Paris, Greece & Dubai. In 2022 Zulfiqar was presented with the U.K Prime Minister’s prestigious Points of Lights Award in recognition of her ‘exceptional service empowering refugee women through art classes.’ She has been celebrated as one of Birmingham’s leading trail blazers in the book “One Upon A Time in Birmingham – Women Who Dared to Dream”.
