Refugee Week 2020

15th - 21st June

Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees.

This year's theme is #Imagine and The Higgins will be sharing stories from the collections that relate to experiences of being a refugee or migrant. Keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels for these stories. 

There are also several online events taking place:

On Tuesday 16th June at 11am, The Higgins Knitting and Crochet group will be holding a live session on Zoom. It's been one year since the group started as part of Refugee Week 2019, sending many boxes of jumpers, hats and blankets to Knit For Peace to distribute to refugees around the globe. 

On Wednesday 17th June at 3pm, Satwinder Kaur (who usually leads Tea Party Poetry events) will be leading a poetry and storytelling session on Zoom, based on the theme of Imagine.

If you would like to join in the knitting group or poetry and storytelling session, please email gemma.hutton@bedford.gov.uk to register your interest and get the Zoom details.  

On Friday 19th June - Join in with a Refugee Week themed Sketch Friday. We will post an object or artwork from the collections relating to experiences of being a refugee or migrant for the group to create their own piece of art. No particular artistic skills required, any media that takes your fancy. Join the group here.

Visit The Higgins Bedford website to discover more Refugee Week activities and resources that can be enjoyed from home.

The Higgins Bedford has many online activities that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home. 

We have made online jigsaws from our art collections, featuring works by JMW Turner, William Blake, Eric Ravilious, Ford Madox Brown and more. Play them here.

You can explore the collections on our blog with posts offering an in-depth perspective of art, social history, archaeology and behind the scenes at The Higgins Bedford. Take a look here.

There are also several collections quizzes, with our latest that are based on the history of Bedfordshire Lace. Try them here.

Congratulations to two volunteers that received the Silver Owl Award from SHARE Museums East on Thursday 4th June, celebrating 25 years of volunteering at The Higgins Bedford.

Cathy Moorhouse and Marian Harrington both started volunteering in 1995 as part of The Higgins Learning Team, delivering and developing sessions for schools.

Cathy said, “The Higgins has been a big part of my life in Bedford and I have enjoyed my association with it, and the various activities I have been involved with as a volunteer, very much indeed."

Marian said, “Volunteering at the Higgins over the years has enabled me to share my love of history with families and school groups. I am very pleased to receive this award.”

We also want to say THANK YOU to all of our volunteers for contributing their time and skills at The Higgins Bedford. Though we haven't been able to see our volunteers during the lockdown, we are grateful for all the work that they do.