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WALKING
HOME
Marcus Kern has walked from the
port of Dover, to the Home Office, Croydon, in order to raise
funds for the 'Leave to Remain' exhibition. He started his walk
on the 12th June, and finished it on the 15th June marking the
beginning of the 2003 Refugee Week, and the opening of the 'Leave
to Remain' exhibition.
By walking from Dover, where many asylum seekers arrive, quite
often in appalling conditions, barely alive hidden in the tracks
of traffickers, and arriving in Home Office, Croydon, where many
have come to claim asylum, queuing for hours until their number
is 'up', Marcus wanted to bring attention to the issues of asylum,
to the great suffering many people go through in order to reach
UK in search of sanctuary. Many find themselves treated as 'bogus'
asylum seekers, distrusted by the authorities and the public,
questioned if their motives are genuine. We hope to be able to
tip the balance a little, by raising awareness, and by raising
funds for the exhibition which will be exploring these issues.
Marcus would like to thank everyone for their
enormous support both financially and in spirit during his walk.
'Leave to Remain' is a nonprofit project,
set up to raise visibility for artists who are refugees, asylum
seekers or have experienced a similar situation. All the money
raised went towards covering the cost of the exhibition.
THANK YOU
To all the generous people who supported Marcus
and his 'Walking Home' project. Thank you. Without you this project
would not have come to fruition!
Thank you to ACAVA, London Borough of Hammersmith
& Fulham, Roots & BBC London for their support.
Marcus
Kern, as well as walking 140 km and raising
money for the project, Marcus is also the main technical support
behind the design and maintenance of this web-site.
Alex Rotas, visual
arts lecturer at University of the West of England. She is currently
researching the work of visual artists who are refugees for her
PhD at Bath Spa University College. Alex is a member of the selection
panel for the exhibition, and has been generously supporting the
idea and the preparation for exhibition. To find out more about
Alex's project please visit http://www.alexrotas.org.uk
Duncan Smith, Founder and Artistic
Director of ACAVA.
Duncan is a member of the selection panel for this exhibition.
Shehani Fernando, Roots co-ordinator.
Shehani has made it possible for 'Leave to Remain' to come and
be a resident exhibition at BBC London.
Helen Rowe, Senior Education Officer
at Riverside
Studios. Helen is a member of the selection panel, and is
working closely with Artists in Exile.
Thank you to Snova International for generously
donating nice quantities of drinks TWICE! for the private view(s).
Also, Thanks to Shark
AG for their donation of drinks that kept us going through
the night!
Snova International is a
company based in Hertfordshire and is the leading importer of
Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian spirits, wines and beers.
By bringing together some of the most innovative and high quality
range of beverages from the region Snova International is able
to offer you exciting alternatives for any event or special occasion.
To find out more about their excellent range of drinks please
visit their web-site www.snova.co.uk
Web-site designed by
Marcus and Margareta
Kern
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