Kent is proud to be the headline sponsor of the Empathy Museum’s A Mile in My Shoes, a free interactive artwork arriving in Canterbury on 16 October as part of the Canterbury Festival.
The installation invites visitors to ‘leap into the life of a stranger’ by stepping into a pair of shoes to listen to the story of the person who wore them. It features the testimony of Aws Khalid, Kent student and President of the University’s Sanctuary Society, amongst other stories from refugees and prisoners of war from around the world.
To mark its opening, Georgina Randsley de Moura, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of London and South East University Group, will visit the artwork before attending the Festival’s Canterbury: City of Sanctuary event in the evening. Here, she will join representatives from Canterbury Cathedral, Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN) and Canterbury Christ Church University to explore the district’s ambition to become a City of Sanctuary and its history of welcoming people fleeing violence, conflict and persecution.
As a University of Sanctuary, Kent is already working across its campuses to provide a supportive environment for refugees and asylum seekers, from Sanctuary Scholarships and academic opportunities to community outreach and local partnerships.
Professor Randsley de Moura said: “We are proud to support artwork that gives people the space to share their own stories in their own voice. Our university is a place of belonging, and as a University of Sanctuary we are committed to working with partners across the district so that Canterbury is a place where warm welcome is not just an aspiration, but something people genuinely experience in everyday life.”
A Mile in My Shoes is free to drop-in and open from 11:00-16:00 between Friday 16 and Saturday 31 October, located at the corner of High Street and Best Lane in Canterbury city centre.