Migrant storytelling on home and belonging as transformative tools
An ongoing collaborative project with the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Glasgow and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. This initiative uses arts-based and storytelling workshops to explore migrant narratives of home and belonging. Workshops were held in 2025 across Johannesburg, Glasgow and Madrid. An ebook featuring the resulting artworks and stories will be published in 2026.
Arts-based research methods with underserved communities
A year-long collaboration between University College London and the University of the Witwatersrand produced a practical, interactive toolkit for engaging underserved communities. This resource features 16 global case studies on topics like homelessness, migration and identity, and provides best-practice guidance on co-creation, trust-building and ethical engagement. It is designed to make research more inclusive, expressive and human-centered.
Authors: Dr. Nereida Ripero-Muñiz, Kate Shand, Dr. Humera Iqbal and Professor Monica Lakhanpaul.
Supported by: The UCL-Wits Bilateral Partnership Development Seed Fund (2025).
The Meaning of Home
A collaborative project with art therapist Kate Shand and the Three2Six educational project for refugee and migrant children in Johannesburg. It explores the multifaceted meanings of ‘home’ for children experiencing displacement.
Narratives On Migration
A two-month arts and storytelling workshop with migrant women at the Windybrow Arts Centre in Johannesburg. Participants from Congo, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Guinea Conakry explored self-narratives around their migration journeys, identity and belonging.
Constructing and Deconstructing Identities
A two-week intensive workshop in Cairo, Egypt, with migrants from Sudan and the Horn of Africa. The first week trained community leaders, who then co-facilitated the second week’s activities with participants. The workshop was designed in collaboration with poet Dorian Haarhoff and co-facilitated with psychologist Javier Molina Simón.
#EverydayMayfair
A three-day participatory workshop using arts-based methods with Somali migrants in Mayfair, Johannesburg, co-facilitated with Elsa Oliveira in 2017.
Metropolitan Nomads: A Journey through Joburg’s Little Mogadishu
A collaborative project with photographer Salym Fayad that visually documented the daily lives of Somali migrants in Mayfair to challenge xenophobic and victimizing stereotypes.
