In recent weeks, we have seen a deliberate campaign of hatred and vilification towards asylum seekers and refugees, whipped up by sections of the media and certain political figures. We have also seen the flag of England and the Union Jack used in provocative and aggressive ways, to mark territory and make others feel uncomfortable or afraid.

One feature which seems to have been sorely missing in the whole affair is reasonable and considered dialogue. One person who is trying to change that is North East-based Simone Rudolphi, who put on a pop-up exhibition on the Blue Carpet outside the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle on 29 August.

I spoke to Simone this week about her own background and the purpose and content of the exhibition.

Interview with Simone Rudolphi

What is your background?

Professionally, I’m a trained Modern Languages teacher, public services translator/interpreter with legal specialisms and completed an MA in photography at Sunderland Uni, where I was fortunate to meet Dr Shahidul Alam of Drik Picture Library, Bangladesh and since have enjoyed mentoring from me and the Drik team as well as time spent in Dhaka.

When people wonder where I am from it is very much the forests and riverine landscapes of what was West Germany. My early education happened in Germany, so I grew up with attitudes towards authority which were rooted in civil disobedience and anti-authoritarianism.

Speaking of education, my grandson is about to start school this week and we’re going to be celebrating that at the weekend!

What is the exhibition about?

It is a pop-up exhibition of sixteen photographs from the streets from the last couple of weeks and it was outside the Laing Art Gallery on Friday 22 August.  The idea is that it is an icebreaker to communicate with residents of the New Bridge hotel and passers-bye. We had a little table with tea and biscuits and most importantly interpreters in Persian, Arabic and Urdu. This idea came about because the counter protest-calls the last few weeks felt a bit ‘white saviourish’ in language and sometimes in attitude towards brown and black sisters and brothers in the movement and much of what we do ignores issues of agency and a more active commitment to lived anti-racism.

The photographs in the exhibition draw out conversations which link our crises today. Various shadowy organisations are involved in the ongoing Israelis and western allies genocide, racism upsurge both on the street and systemically, the continuing use of fossil fuels etc. There is more to the far-right protests than just ‘a lad on the street’ in this lates upsurge of fascism.

What is the motivation behind the exhibition?

The motivation behind the exhibition, which has been a real team effort and example of what sisterhood, solidarity and community look like, is to encourage better dialogue, and have more people included in the dialogue. It also helps me to have a better understanding of how I can be more strategic as a photojournalist and support the wider movement more strategically and creatively based on research and empathy: for example, we need to mobilise the silent passers-by and listen and engage with more people to counter the racist and fascist narratives. I believe that most white people are with us and with the idea of interculturalism, I prefer this term as it has more integrity and shifts from that which is currently maligned to a better way of thinking. Let’s celebrate together and appreciate our diverse cultures.

What do you want the exhibition to achieve?

It would be good if we could organise a more regular presence on the Blue Carpet. From my own conversations I know that refugees are used to being abused around town, but they feel marginally safer on a Saturday at the Blue Carpet as police and counter protest are present. The evenings are different, and they often stay ‘at home’ and feel tense about the regular visits from far right agitators posing as ‘concerned citizens’ making abusive videos, even trying to gain entry to New Bridge.

Another thing I have finally passed all bureaucratic hurdles for, is offering Nightstop to homeless people, a service offered by De Paul’s in partnership with Nightstop UK. When asylum seekers finally get there official refugee status and right to remain they often find themselves homeless in that immediate situation of being granted status and having to leave asylum seeker accommodation. So my offer is open to them also. DePaul’s/Nightstop are always looking for more hosts who can offer an odd night or more a month.

I also hope that the exhibition can encourage anti-racism to become an active way of living, by people appreciating the challenges and being creative themselves in community.

The exhibition can help us talk with more people. The public perception about migration and seeking sanctuary so successfully created by politicians and billionaire media has become very toxic and is very much about ‘divide and rule’ and very binary which makes it hard to talk to people about the realities of it. It is scary that people are not prepared, for example to like a Facebook post which simply said “let’s just be human” or sharing the more upbeat photos of placards urging us to seek our friendship and solidarity based on our common humanity.

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