THE REFUGEE PROJECT

My portrait of Mansoor which featured in the RBSA Portrait Prize exhibition in 2024

In 2024, I was honoured to be commissioned by Dudley College of Technology to produce a series of unusual portraits.

Instead of wanting portraits of staff or governors, the college asked me to create a series of paintings featuring refugees enrolled on its ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) course.

The idea behind this was to welcome these people to the college and also help make them feel welcome in Dudley and the UK as a whole. My portraits formed part of a wider project, including portraits by the college’s talented photography students and interviews with the refugees by TV and media students. Once completed, all the work would be featured in an exhibition at Dudley Archives.

The students, tutors and I began by meeting with the refugees and hearing their often heartbreaking stories. Many were escaping war-torn countries such as the Ukraine, Iran and Sudan and trying to start a new life here in Dudley without their family and friends.

Stories from Refugees and Preparatory Sketches

As the refugees spoke, I made sketches of them while the students took photographs. We were all deeply moved by their experiences and in awe of their resilience. Everyone in that initial meeting came away with an even deeper empathy for those who had risked everything to seek sanctuary in the UK.

And, as well as being a lesson in humanity and respect for others, the meeting also provided an incredibly important counterpoint to the anti-refugee rhetoric being pushed by certain political figures and groups.

During the days and weeks afterwards, I began work on my series of watercolour portraits, using my initial sketches and the photographic portraits produced by our students as reference. When creating these, I was constantly thinking about the troubles these people had faced and was deeply conscious that my paintings had to reflect this as much as possible.

Naturally, I wanted to achieve a likeness of my subjects, but I also wanted these paintings to convey a deeply personal message – hopefully one which resonated with viewers.

My six portraits in watercolour were featured in the exhibition at Dudley Archives alongside the students’ photographs and video interviews.

*Me with two of my portraits at the Refugee Project exhibition at Dudley Archives*

The exhibition was a huge success and confounded everyone’s expectations, with more than 100 people attending the opening night in February 2024. Local councillor, Kieran Casey and Lord Ian Austin were there, alongside The Mayor of Dudley, Andrea Goddard. Reporters and photographers from leading local newspaper, the Express and Star, covered the event here.

The mayor of Dudley and I discussing my paintings of the refugees

The RBSA Portrait Prize Exhibition 2024

Once the exhibition at Dudley Archives had ended, I wanted to see if my work could attract a wider audience. Therefore, I decided to enter my portrait of one of the refugees, Mansoor, into the RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists) Portrait Prize exhibition 2024.

I was delighted when my painting was one of 81 selected to be exhibited. This was especially meaningful as 472 works were submitted to this prestigious event. These were submitted by 272 artists from all over the UK. The private view in May of that year was hugely popular, with many attending on the night or visiting the gallery after this date.

However, there was one person who hadn’t seen my portrait hanging in the gallery yet – Mansoor himself. So, I was thrilled when he came to the gallery in Newhall Street, along with photography tutor at Dudley College, Phil Brooks, and ESOL tutor, Sally Hebbard.

Mansoor and I with his portrait at RBSA Gallery, Birmingham

It was an honour to paint Mansoor and the other refugees I got to know. Having my work featured in such a prestigious exhibition was the perfect conclusion to a deeply rewarding project and I hope to be involved in many similar projects in the future.

Thanks to Phil, Sally, Mansoor and all the other refugees for this opportunity. Thank you to the judges of the RBSA Portrait Prize exhibition. I appreciate them for choosing my painting. Here’s to many more exhibitions in this wonderful gallery space.

Refugee Exhibition at the House of Commons in 2025

After the RBSA show had finished, I was looking around for other exhibition opportunities when I received a unique proposal from the college in conjunction with local councillor, Keiran Casey, and Lord Ian Austin.

The success of the refugee exhibition at Dudley Archives had given them the idea of exhibiting our students’ photographs and my paintings in Parliament.

Therefore in March 2025, I caught the train down to London to meet up with staff and students from the college. As we entered the grand halls of Westminster, we couldn’t help but stand in awe at the history and architecture surrounding us.

And, to think our refugee exhibition had made it all the way from Dudley Archives to the House of Commons was a truly humbling moment. As with the previous exhibitions, I hope this raised awareness of refugees in the UK and the very real human stories of hope and resilience behind them.

*Me Standing in Front of my Refugee Portraits in the House of Commons Waiting Room*

As a portrait painter, I’m always on the lookout for new subjects. Why not get in touch with me via my contact page to discuss a painting of your own?

If you’re interested in purchasing any of my original refugee paintings, you can do so below.