Making Life Here

A Research Exhibition

Saturday 7th November – Saturday 21st November, 2026

Opening Night: Friday 6th November, 6-8pm                              

Surface proudly presents Making Life Here, a participatory photography exhibition featuring images and narratives created by children and young people living with sickle cell disease who have migrated to the United Kingdom. The exhibition brings together photography and personal captioning to explore how chronic illness, migration, identity and belonging intersect in everyday life.

The voices and perspectives of young people are represented through photographs and written narratives produced with the photovoice method using digital cameras and mobile phones. Altogether, they explore interconnected themes of managing health challenges and care needs in the context of lived experience and personal development after migration.

 Dr Brenda Poku is a senior research fellow at the University of Nottingham. Making Life Here is her first exhibition project presenting research in a public gallery setting.

Artist Talk & Walkthrough

Saturday 14th November, 2pm

Dr Brenda Poku will speak about the ideas behind Making Life Here explaining the interconnected themes that form the exhibition. The session will be informal with time for questions and discussion.

Making Life Here launches in the Project Space alongside the exhibition in the Main Gallery by this year’s SurfRes residency artists. As always, there will be a bar with a range of ales from local brewery Pheasantry.

Free Entry: Everyone Welcome