Celebrating Sanctuary
Charity 1099536
www.celebrating-sanctuary.org.uk
Overview
Summary
Celebrating Sanctuary appears to use arts and cultural participation as civic infrastructure for sanctuary: connecting refugee and migrant artists, people seeking asylum, and wider Birmingham audiences. Its role is distinctive because it combines public-facing celebration with artist development and community engagement, rather than treating cultural events as separate from integration or rights awareness. The available evidence suggests a long-established organisation whose work links local cultural venues, festivals and participatory projects, although its present scale, reach and partnership model remain unclear.
Operational geography
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
City Centre
Confidence: high
Direct evidence shows delivery at Symphony Hall in June 2025, through a partnership with B:Music. The latest trustees' report also records a year-round programme of lunchtime concerts and Refugee Week activity at Symphony Hall during 2024-25. This is a venue-based operational presence rather than evidence of a permanent Celebrating Sanctuary site.
- Celebrating Sanctuary website, Refugee Week Festival 2025
The 2025 Refugee Week Weekender included a Refugee Week Takeover at Symphony Hall on 22 June 2025, presented with B:Music. - Celebrating Sanctuary 2024-25 Annual Report, filed with the Charity Commission
The report lists B:Music lunchtime concerts at Symphony Hall from April 2024 to March 2025, a Refugee Week takeover at Symphony Hall, and a B:Music schools event and workshops there. - B:Music, Your Visit
B:Music identifies Symphony Hall as being within the City Centre.
Moseley
Confidence: medium
Direct evidence shows delivery at MAC in Cannon Hill Park and a Refugees Welcome March meeting at Moseley Exchange in June 2025. This supports operational activity in the Moseley area, although the available evidence does not independently establish ward boundaries.
- Celebrating Sanctuary website, Refugee Week Festival 2025
The 2025 Refugee Week Weekender included a Refugee Week Takeover at MAC on 21 June 2025, and the Refugees Welcome March met at Moseley Exchange. - Celebrating Sanctuary 2024-25 Annual Report, filed with the Charity Commission
The report records Refugee Week activity and two Evolving Traditions events at MAC during 2024-25, plus an event at Moseley Hive in August 2024. - Birmingham City Council, Cannon Hill Park
The council identifies Cannon Hill Park as being in Moseley and notes that the MAC entrance is adjacent to the park.
Remaining uncertainties
- The latest confirmed public programme evidence is from June 2025 and the financial year ending 31 March 2025. No 2026 programme or 2025-26 annual report was located, so continued delivery at the listed venues after June 2025 cannot be confirmed.
- Celebrating Sanctuary has a registered address, but the Charity Commission states that the charity does not own or lease land or property. The evidence does not establish that this address is a public-facing or operational delivery site.
- The 2024-25 report records an Erdington partnership event and plans for workshops in eight Birmingham schools, but the available evidence does not establish these as continuing, recurring operational locations or identify all relevant wards.
- The organisation works with refugee and migrant artists and communities across Birmingham, but the available sources do not provide a complete current map of community-project or participant locations.
Additional evidence needed
- A 2025-26 annual report, current delivery plan, or current events calendar confirming venues and projects after June 2025.
- Further evidence on the scope and continuation of the Generation Birmingham project beyond the planned 2025 activity.
- Confirmation from Celebrating Sanctuary of whether its registered address is used for staff, administration, rehearsals or public delivery, rather than solely as a registered correspondence address.
- Current information on the Birmingham Refugee Week Network and community-cohesion project showing where partner-led activity is being delivered.
Areas of work
- Arts/culture/heritage/science
- Education/training
Who they help
- Children/young People
- Other Defined Groups
- People Of A Particular Ethnic Or Racial Origin
- The General Public/mankind
How they help
- Other Charitable Activities
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
Culture appears to be its method for building belonging
The organisation appears to treat music and arts not only as creative activity, but as a practical means of advancing racial harmony, public understanding and the right to seek sanctuary.
Why it matters
This helps distinguish Celebrating Sanctuary from an arts presenter or refugee-support service: its likely contribution is creating shared public spaces where cultural expression and civic recognition reinforce one another.
Show evidence
“The charity promotes racial harmony between West Midlands residents and refugees, including through facilitating cultural events and celebrating human rights and the right to seek sanctuary.”
Source:Charity Commission“Its mission is to support, develop and celebrate refugee and migrant artists and engage refugees and asylum seekers through community projects.”
Source:Organisation
It appears to work across a continuum from participation to visibility
Its three strands suggest an operating model that may connect individual artists' development, community participation and public cultural programming, rather than focusing on only one of these areas.
Why it matters
This potentially makes the organisation a bridge between people who are often positioned only as service users and the wider cultural life of the city as artists, performers and contributors.
Show evidence
“The organisation identifies World Music including Refugee Week, artist development with refugee and migrant artists, and community engagement with refugees and asylum seekers as its three main strands.”
Source:Organisation“The website lists Refugee Week Festival, Global Music Youth Ensemble, We Are Birmingham and lunchtime concerts at Symphony Hall.”
Source:Organisation
The organisation may be a cultural connector rather than a venue-based provider
The range of named programmes and external cultural settings suggests it may create projects across Birmingham's cultural ecosystem, using events and collaborations to reach different publics.
Why it matters
If accurate, its value may lie partly in relationship-building across arts institutions, communities and refugee-focused activity—an important role that is not visible from charity categories alone.
Show evidence
“The website lists lunchtime concerts at Symphony Hall (B:Music), Compton Verney Art Gallery After Hours and MAC Summer Series.”
Source:Organisation“The organisation was founded in 2002.”
Source:Organisation
- Whether its current activity remains as broad as the historic website material suggests.
- Which communities, geographies and age groups participate most directly, and who is least reached.
- Whether named cultural venues are formal partners, occasional hosts or past collaborators.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent annual reports, programme calendars and participant numbers to establish current scale and priorities.
- Evidence of partnerships, artist outcomes and participant feedback to understand its relational role and impact.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
A diverse music and arts organisation with a mission to support , develop and celebrate refugee and migrant artists, to engage through community projects with refugees and asylum seekers. Founded in 2 002 we have developed 3 main strands to our work: World Music including Refugee Week, Artist development with refugee and migrant artists, Community Engagement with refugees and asylum seekers. .
Charity objects
1) THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION; 2) THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY IN THE PROMOTION OF RACIAL HARMONY BETWEEN RESIDENTS IN THE WEST MIDLANDS AND REFUGEES LIVING IN THE WEST MIDLANDS AREA. IN PARTICULAR, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BY: A) FACILITATING CULTURAL EVENTS B) ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING THE CELEBRATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PARTICULAR A PERSON'S RIGHT TO SEEK SANCTUARY FROM PERSECUTION.