We're working on building a holistic and empowering Cultural Welcome Guide to Liverpool for the asylum seeker and refugee community in the city. Part of this involves a programme of trips.

We are currently applying for larger pots of funding to support the whole project. In the meantime, we want to keep the momentum we've built up going and involve new participants by running a programme of trips in summer 2023.

This project was inspired by a tour we organised for a group of vulnerable migrants to the Tate and Open Eye as part of the SOL English through Art project at Metal in Autumn 2022. One of the participants was overwhelmed to discover they could access the art on show at the Tate for free. Another shared photos of last time they had been to an exhibition - It had possibly been a year since they had accessed culture in the city and was only doing so through the filter of organised trips.

Our trips are unique as they are done with a view to empowerment. We do this by supporting participants to take public transport, explaining to them how to enter the space, where to go for free tickets etc. Everything about the trip aims to increase participants confidence in entering cultural spaces.