Introduction

For this Round-up, we have gathered together resources from our Partner collections that explore the lives and stories of people who have left their homes and moved to another country – whether for study or work or through necessity as they flee conflict, persecution or natural disaster.

Use these resources to explore the theme of migration and to remember and celebrate the contribution that migrants make to the culture and economy of our communities.

Wooden Boat with Seven People 2011

Kalliopi Lemos (b.1951)

Brushfield Street, Tower Hamlets

Resources and links

Art UK

Be inspired by the drawings and paintings of British Indian artist Lancelot Ribeiro whose town and cityscapes were inspired by the architecture of Mumbai, the city he was born in.

Create abstract towns and cities inspired by Lancelot Ribeiro
(KS 2 / CfE Level 2 / Ps 3)

Bombay 1964

Lancelot Ribeiro (1933–2010)

University of Sussex

Explore the Windrush story through art with these resources from Art UK.

Explore the Windrush story through art
(KS 3)

Windrush 70 years on: the next generation
(KS 3 & KS 4)

Ben Uri Gallery and Museum

The Ben Uri collection celebrates and documents the richly diverse Jewish and immigrant contributions to British visual culture since 1900.

Discover learning resources on the theme of identity and portraiture
(Suitable for KS 2–4)

Explore artworks from the Ben Uri Collection
(All ages)

In conversation: refugee artists and the Ben Uri Collection
(Adult learners)

BBC Teach

South Asian Heritage Month first took place in 2020 and runs from 18th July to 17th August each year. This collection of teaching resources explores South Asian history, heritage, culture and achievements.

South Asian Heritage Month resources
(Secondary students)

Dormeurs [The Sleepers] Tangier, Fig. 2 2006

Yto Barrada (b.1971)

Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives

Birmingham Museums

Listen to audio recordings from The Birmingham Black Oral History Project and hear Windrush stories:

Hear Windrush voices from The Birmingham Black Oral History Project
(All ages)

Bristol's Free Museums and Historic Houses

Discover a timeline of migration that tracks the flow of people leaving and joining Bristol to help make the city what it is today, and read stories related to migration.

Migration: joining and leaving Bristol
(Teacher research resource & adult learners)

In the House of My Father (from an edition of three) 1996–1997

Donald G. Rodney (1961–1998)

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

British Library: Trace the long history of South Asians in Britain

Find creative writing ideas and activities that draw on the histories, people and objects and listen to Windrush Voices with the resources featured on the British Library's Windrush Stories page.

Windrush Stories creative writing activities
(Primary students)

Windrush Stories creative writing activities
(Secondary students)

Listen: Windrush Voices audio
(All ages)

With a focus on the period 1858–1950, explore this history of South Asian migration to Britain and the rich and diverse contributions South Asians have made to British life and society through contemporary accounts, photographs, letters, newspapers and pamphlets. 

South Asians in Britain
(Teacher research resource & adult learners)

Government Art Collection

Mohammed Sami left Iraq for Sweden in 2007. This Government Art Collection ArtSpark resource explores how his experiences as a refugee have impacted his art.

Download ArtSpark resource: Mohammed Sami
(For young people +14 & adult learners)

Displacement 2017

Mohammed Sami (b.1984)

Government Art Collection

Imperial War Museum

This resource from the IWM is a collection of videos, artworks, stories and other resources that explore the experience of refugees and aid workers who work with refugees.

Contemporary conflict: refugees
(Primary and secondary students)

Jewish Museum

Discover migration stories through videos and photographs with resources from the Jewish Museum and think about the heritage that refugees take with them to their new homes.

Explore migration resources
(Primary and secondary)

Refugee Heritage resource
(KS 2)

Hessel Street: Sabbath Cakes to the Baker mid-20th C

Rose Henriques (1889–1972)

Jewish Museum London

Museum of London

For centuries people have migrated to London from all over the world.

This resource, created for families and schools, explores some of the stories of Black Londoners from the Romans to the present day. (Children should have an adult with them when exploring the stories as some of the information is upsetting.)

Black Londoners through time
(Suitable for families with adult guidance)

Find out how migration from the Caribbean changed London, with this Museum of London Docklands resource.

How did the Empire Windrush change London?
(All ages)

Shango left Trinidad in 1961 for a new life in Britain. Watch seven short videos that tell his story.

Shango's migration story
(All ages)

National Museums Liverpool

Discover the story behind The Emigrants – a painting that shows Irish emigrants arriving in Liverpool in the mid-1800s – a time when Liverpool was one of the busiest ports in the world.

Listen to the story behind the painting
(All ages)

Irish Emigrants Entering Liverpool 1990

David Jacques (b.1964)

Walker Art Gallery

National Museum of Scotland & National Library of Scotland

For hundreds of years, people have left Scotland to live and work abroad. Some people left in search of a better life while others were tenant farmers forced to leave by their landlords in the Highland Clearances.

Discover objects and photographs related to Scottish emigration in this resource from the National Museum of Scotland.

Download Scots and Emigration: 1800 to 1950
(Schools & teachers)

Delve into the National Library of Scotland for information and passenger lists about Scottish emigrants.

Emigration and Passenger lists
(Adult learners)

The Emigrants 1926

David Shanks Ewart (1901–1965)

McLean Museum and Art Gallery – Inverclyde Council

Royal Museums, Greenwich

The Royal Museums, Greenwich have put together a range of tools including objects, artworks, stories, discussion ideas and activities that teachers can use in planning lessons.

Migration, Heritage and Belonging
(KS 2)

Discover Windrush stories and discover powerful activities to help students learn about the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush.

Visit the Windrush Teacher Resource
(KS 3)

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Explore portraits by Verena Jaekel of families from the Pakistani community in Scotland, commissioned as part of the Gallery's Migration Stories project.

Browse the Scottish Family Portraits series
(All ages)

Sunderland Culture

View Transition IV, an online exhibition by Ghanaian-born and Sunderland-based glass artist Anthony Amoako-Attah, and discover how he has used objects from Sunderland Museum's collection and Adinkra symbols from Ghanaian culture to represent his shifting dual identity.

Transition IV – online exhibition
(Secondary students & adult learners)

Death and the Conquistador 1959

Aubrey Williams (1926–1990)

Tate

Tate

Explore how artists reflect on moving to new places through videos, talking points, art terms and artworks with these resources from Tate.

Migration and art
(Suitable for a range of learners, from KS 4 to adult learners)

V&A

Journey through the V&A's collection and explore objects that tell a story about people who became refugees.

V&A family trail: refugee stories
(Families & children)

Explore artworks relating to refugees and migration on Art UK