Pensions&Investments – AllianzGI to focus on immigration in new partnership (01/04/2019)
An article in Pensions&Investments on Allianz Global Investors’ sponsorship of our Migrants Mean Business series.
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Migrants Mean Business series highlights enormous contribution of migrants to British business (21/03/2019)
The Migration Museum, in association with Allianz Global Investors, is launching a new conversation series with prominent British business leaders with migrant backgrounds.
Migrants Mean Business is a series of five in-conversation events, to be held in 2019/20, providing insight into the personal and professional stories of some of the country’s most influential business figures, while shining a light on the long, varied and important contribution of migrants to all aspects of British life.
Migrants Mean Business series highlights enormous contribution of migrants to British business
The Migration Museum, in association with Allianz Global Investors, is launching a new conversation series with prominent British business leaders with migrant backgrounds.
Migrants Mean Business is a series of five in-conversation events, to be held in 2019/20, providing insight into the personal and professional stories of some of the country’s most influential business figures, while shining a light on the long, varied and important contribution of migrants to all aspects of British life.
Each conversation will be chaired by a prominent journalist, economist or business leader, and will also be released in the form of a free-to-download podcast.
The first conversation in the series takes place on Wednesday 27 March 2019 and features entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, best known as the founder of low-cost airline easyJet, in conversation with Daniel Franklin, executive and diplomatic editor of the Economist. Subsequent speakers and dates will be announced soon.
Explaining the rationale behind the series, Sophie Henderson, director of the Migration Museum, said:
“The impact of migration on the economy and labour markets is currently at the centre of public debate in the UK – and elsewhere. But while focus often tends to be on the impact of migration on lower-wage workers, it is often overlooked that many of Britain’s most successful business have been founded or are run by migrants,” said Sophie Henderson, director of the Migration Museum.
“That is why we are delighted to be staging this Migrants Mean Business series, in association with Allianz Global Investors. This series goes to the heart of what the Migration Museum is all about – shining a light on the many ways that migration has shaped who we are today – as individuals, as communities and as a nation.”
Commenting on the sponsorship, Andreas Utermann, CEO of Allianz Global Investors, said:
“Arguably, there has never been a more pressing time to foster a better-informed discourse around migration and the role it plays in society, including business.
“As a global asset manager, Allianz Global Investors employs a very diverse workforce, with at least 25 nationalities represented in the UK alone. Consequently, we are proud to support the Migration Museum’s cause and the conversations they seek to promote.”
Download and view press release as a PDF
For more information, please contact matthew@migrationmuseum.org
Kurdish artist, carpet designer and weaver Shorsh Saleh our next artist-in-residence
Shorsh Saleh, a Kurdish mixed-media artist, carpet designer and weaver, is taking up residency in the art studio in our Room to Breathe exhibition in April 2019.
Having travelled to the UK as a refugee 17 years ago, Saleh deals with the subjects of migration, borders and identity through his work – with a particular focus on the Kurdish people, who have been stateless and subject to persecution for the past 100 years.
“As someone who was born and raised in a war zone, art has always been a form of therapy, a magical tool to escape from suffering and trauma since I was a child. As a Kurdish artist my works relate to my experience as a stateless person, becoming a refugee and witnessing the deaths of hundreds of people. Art kept my soul alive during the process of leaving my homeland, the two years of travelling across borders illegally and the eight years of waiting for asylum in the UK,” Saleh explains.
Saleh includes the traditional techniques of miniature painting in a contemporary context, using handmade natural pigments, dyes and papers. Saleh is also an experienced Persian carpet maker and many of his works are inspired by the symbolic motifs used in traditional carpets, combined with contemporary imagery.
His current series of works are based on the subject of migrant journeys by sea and the imaginary notion of flying carpets being used to cross borders.
Saleh studied MA Traditional Arts at The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London, where he has been teaching carpet weaving since 2015. He has also been teaching at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha since 2017.
Saleh has exhibited both nationally and internationally. His works are held in the Royal Collection Trust, the British Museum, the Bagri Foundation and The Islamic Art Museum, Malaysia.
During Saleh’s open studio, participants will have access to geometric designs and biomorphic carpet motifs to copy and colour. These will be exhibited in his studio alongside his artwork throughout his residency, which runs from 4 April–28 April 2019.
Find out more about Shorsh Saleh by visiting his website and following him on Instagram.
Artist-led workshops
Flying-carpet weaving workshop, Sunday 14 April 2019 | 12pm–5pm | £20 (advance booking essential – click here to book)
Free drop-in sessions
Shorsh will be in his studio in our Room to Breathe exhibition between 3pm and 5pm every Saturday during his residency, when you can stop by to chat with him, and design your own flying carpet.
Residency details
Dates: 4 April–28 April 2019
Address: Migration Museum at The Workshop, 26 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7AG
Opening hours: Thursday 12pm–8pm, Friday–Sunday 12pm–6pm
Free meet-the-artist sessions: Every Saturday from 6 April until 27 April 2019 | 3pm–5pm
About the art studio in Room to Breathe
The art studio inside our Room to Breathe exhibition is a space curated by visual artist and educator Dima Karout to explore the role of art and creativity in helping people settle into new lives in Britain, and to offer educational art experiences for visitors. Each month, the studio will host a different migrant artist to share their work and process.
View the full schedule of artists in residence and find out more about Room to Breathe