Sing for Sanctuary

‘Sanctuary has a different meaning for everyone. Winchester City of Sanctuary wants to ensure Winchester is a peaceful, protective and supportive place for people seeking sanctuary.

Sing for Sanctuary is an opportunity to bring our sanctuary community together, in a historic place of sanctuary, Winchester Cathedral, to collaborate with our wider community, using different expressive art forms.

Each person that has come to the UK to seek safety and protection, or sanctuary, has their own story and no two stories are the same. We wanted to create an opportunity for people to share their stories and capture their journey’s to sanctuary in an art form of their choice.

Sharing stories of sanctuary not only affords our local community the opportunity to bear witness to the many challenges that refugees face, which fosters better understanding, it also provides a collaborative opportunity and that can be an act of solidarity too.

Winchester has opened its arms to supporting refugees and people fleeing conflict and persecution. We hope that Space for Sanctuary will support one of our aims to have more compassion for refugees not only in Winchester but more widely. We can lead by example here in calling for sanctuary to be embedded in towns, cities, organisations, schools and in small acts we do every day.’ – Beth Flint, City of Sanctuary

‘The University of Winchester Music Centre is the university’s co- and extra-curricular music department. Through music groups, performances, music facilities, personal development sessions
and community events, we provide music making opportunities for current and past students, staff and members of the local community. There are regular rehearsals with our 17+ music groups, individual and group tuition, workshops, trainings and much more to engage with. Membership is
free (although some tuition has a fee) and there are no auditions to take part.
So, whatever you’re studying, keep your music making alive by joining us.’

‘Winchester City of Sanctuary is a voluntary run and led local community group. Our vision is that Winchester will be a welcoming place of sanctuary (safety and protection) for all, especially those
fleeing violence and persecution. We began in 2020 and are now working with a large number of local partners committed to our values, see below.
We work with people seeking sanctuary as part of a movement of welcome across the UK.
If you or your organisation would like to become affiliated with Winchester City of Sanctuary please email us at: admin@winchester.cityofsanctuary.org to sign a pledge.’

‘Play to the Crowd is an arts and education charity. Our family comprises of:
• Theatre Royal Winchester – a beautiful middle scale heritage theatre.
• Hat Fair – the oldest continuously operating Outdoor Arts Festival in the country.
• Playmakers – a range of community engagement and creative learning programmes and
activities.
Why? Delight and Unite. How? By inspiring people to connect with and participate in live
performance – both indoors and out – and by inviting them to ‘escape from the ordinary’ and
discover a lifelong love of theatre and the arts. What? We run a beautiful theatre, family-friendly
festivals and community participation programmes, in and around Winchester.
We believe in
• Bringing people together in wonder
• The power and value of live performance
• Nurturing talent
• Improving lives through participation
For more information contact: info@playtothecrowd.co.uk ‘

‘The New Carnival Company is a pioneering arts development organisation based on the Isle of Wight specialising in carnival and outdoor public celebrations.
We are a team of highly experienced carnival artists and producers, teachers and trainers, project managers and outdoor event specialists who believe that carnival and other forms of celebratory arts can make a real difference to people and places.
For more information please contact info@thenewcarnivalcompany.com ‘