Fragments of existence
Exhibition & Events
16 May – 27 May 2026
Fragments of Existence is an exhibition of mixed media artworks which illuminate people’s experiences of having No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). NRPF is an immigration condition which prevents people from accessing welfare support, social housing and other services. Based on personal accounts of children, young people, and parents living with NRPF, this exhibition uses text, photography, painting and poetry to invite audiences to understand the reality of internal and everyday borders.
Curation by Alice Millar, in collaboration with the Shadows research team
Exhibition
@ Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA
Mon – Fri: 9am to late (check website for exceptional closure times)
Sat – Sun: 10am to late (check website for exceptional closure times)
Events
Tuesday, 19 May, 6-7.30 pm Curating social research: Experiments in public sociology
Friday, 22 May, 5-7pm Workshop – Gathering fragments and tracing threads
Tuesday, 26 May, 10am-3pm Family Day
16 May – 27 May 2026 Student tours
Tuesday, 19 May, 6-7.30 pm
Curating social research: Experiments in public sociology
Yasmin Gunaratnam and Alice Millar in conversation with Rachel Rosen about the Fragments of Existence exhibition. What are the political and ethical questions animating efforts to make social research ‘public’? What are the risks and potentials of testimony in contexts of erasure and hyper-visibilisation? What does it mean to be attentive towards people dehumanised by racialised borders? What affordances do curation and exhibition hold for new knowledge production, solidarity, and social justice?
Attendance is free but registration is essential. Register here.
Friday, 22 May, 5-7pm
Workshop – Gathering fragments and tracing threads
Take part in an art-making experience led by Meera Shakti Osborne to learn more about the exhibition and celebrate its contributors. We will create a collective, evolving sculptural artwork shaped by who we are and our connections to each other.
Attendance is free, but registration is essential. Register here.
Tuesday, 26 May, 10am-3pm
Join us to visit the exhibition and take part in activities for families. Attendance for families is free, but registration for activities is essential. Children must be accompanied by a parent or carer at all times.
10am-3pm. Creative activities for all ages
Receive a family gift bag to engage with the exhibition, play with arts materials, and create something to take home.
With Javiera Sandoval Limari, the Creative Learning Creator at Mosaic Rooms. Javiera has been working children and families for twenty years co-producing art, play and textile about everyday life.
No registration necessary.
11am-12pm. Create your own story
In this interactive workshop, we will develop a picture book about a family with No Recourse to Public Funds.
Writer, teacher, and children’s book author Darren Chetty will share a draft of a story and invite everyone to draw and write extra scenes.
For participants of all ages. Register here.
A session of drawing and play using an interactive artwork called ‘The Spaceship’, a huge mobile fabric mural which is activated through games, grounding rituals and embodied gestures of release. The mural element of the ship has been screen printed onto silk fabric and sewed together into a massive undulating structure similar to the play parachutes used in primary schools.
With Jacob V Joyce – their work ranges from afro-futurist world-building workshops to mural painting, comic books and performance art.
7 years old and above. Register here.
2-3pm. An interactive storytelling session – with a twist
Explore Black Radical Traditions of resistance through folktales passed down across generations and continents.
With PhD student and story teller Gina Antchandie.
For younger audiences. Register here.
16 May – 27 May 2026
Would you like to arrange a tour of Fragments of Existence for your students?
The stories that come alive in this exhibition are ones that are rarely heard. Yet NRPF is an issue that affects students, families, and neighbours across London.
This exhibition is perfectly suited for high school and Sixth Form students to explore issues related to immigration policy and welfare and engage with social science research that links with subjects such as Citizenship, Sociology or PSHE.
College and university students studying migration and mobility, social policy, sociology, curation and design will all be interested in this exhibition.
We offer free guided tours for local schools, colleges, and university classes, followed by group discussion and activities for students to learn more about NRPF. If you’d like to arrange a viewing with one of our team members, please contact Malte Gembus.
Poster image: Meera Shakti Osborne
Poster design: Alice Millar
