It’s a wrap! What an extraordinary week. ❤️
Refugee Welcome Week brought Amsterdam 25 events led by refugees—sharing their art, resilience and practices rooted in radical hope, driven by solidarity, and fueled by imagination.
People kept showing up every single day. We witnessed incredible energy—from the organizers, artists, cooks, contributors, and from the public.
From 16 to 22 June, we witnessed something powerful:
– 25+ events across 7 days with over 800 visitors!
– 40+ refugee artists, musicians, scholars, cultural makers, activists, and cooks, weaving their work together.
– The voluntary time and effort of many individuals and collectives in support of the team and coalition.
– Participants who kept showing up throughout the week, expressing that this week revived hope and provided ways to take action.
More than a festival, RWW was a call to action: To practice hope in a time of imposed despair, to honor cultural resistance, and to actively imagine a future where everyone belongs.
We danced, we grieved, we shared meals, we questioned, we listened, we created. Events ranged from exhibitions to performances, talks, critical workshops, film screenings, and a reciprocity ceremony connecting us to land, lineage, and liberation. To begin to build radically different futures, we must collectively envision them into reality.
We are assured that the love and energy around this movement will grow over the years. We would love to leave you with some affirmations from our closing event:
“My hope is resistance
Our hope is revolution
My power is imagination
We imagine bright futures”
– Kuvali
