Connecting Solidarities: 30 Years of the Derby Bosnia Herzegovina Community Association

Funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in 2025, The University of Derby, in partnership with the Derby Bosnia Herzegovina Community Association (DBHCA), presents Connecting Solidarities, a co-created exhibition with the community and Artcore marking 30 years since the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the genocide in Srebrenica.

The University of Derby team led by Project Lead, Associate Professor, Dr Larissa Allwork and co-investigators, Dr Giulia Levi and Professor Alessio D’Angelo have worked in partnership with the DBHCA to curate an exhibition which explores how the DBHCA has developed from a support initiative for the Derby Bosnia and Herzegovinian community into a vital refugee support organisation, fostering networks of care, solidarity, and cultural connection across Derby and Derbyshire.

Building community and connection

The exhibition traces the origins of the DBHCA from ‘The Bosnia Project’ refugee programme of the 1990s, highlighting the resilience and determination of those who arrived in Derby and went on to establish a lasting community association.

Through this history, Connecting Solidarities demonstrates how grassroots action can create meaningful support systems for people rebuilding their lives after conflict. Today, the DBHCA plays an active role in wider refugee and migrant solidarity networks, supporting new arrivals and contributing to the wider voluntary and public sector in Derby and Derbyshire.

Exploring place, identity and belonging

Bringing together historical roots and geographical routes, the exhibition maps the DBHCA’s journey from its early beginnings to its current home on Curzon Street - a hub for connection, care, culture, and learning for the Bosnian community, Derby residents and new arrivals from across the world.

The exhibition at Artcore also explores Bosnian cross-generational experiences of memory, heritage, and identity. It reflects on the perspectives of those who arrived in the UK as children during the 1990s war, as well as second-generation Bosnians born in Britain.

Visitors are invited to consider questions such as: how are cultural traditions sustained across generations? What do the legacies of conflict mean for communities today? And how can we learn from diverse community experiences to shape stronger, more connected futures?

Co-creation and community voices

Connecting Solidarities brings together oral histories of community members, personal objects of memory, and archival photographs and documents from the DBHCA’s archives and the collection of Ferid Kevrić. These materials are presented alongside newly commissioned participatory maps of the DBHCA’s networks and connections in Derby city. These maps have been created collaboratively by the research team with the community and data visualisation expert, Dr. Jakleen Al-Dalal’a. Inspired by research interviews with the community and the participatory mapping, the exhibition includes a co-produced textile artwork and film by DBHCA member and contemporary artist Lejla Kevrić. It also features poster designs by renowned Bosnian graphic design collective Trio – Sarajevo, whose ‘Greetings from Sarajevo’ series became a powerful symbol of cultural resistance in the besieged city during the 1990s.

A civic approach to research and engagement

This project reflects the University of Derby’s commitment to working in partnership with communities to explore lived experiences, support cultural expression, and address shared social challenges.

By bringing together research, creativity, and community knowledge, Connecting Solidarities highlights the role of collaboration in building more inclusive and compassionate places.

Additional links:

The team's appearance giving a research paper at the Oxford University Social Sciences Impact conference on 25 March 2026

Research Professional News Article

Connecting Solidarities will be on show at Artcore, Osnabrück Square, Derby from 8 May – 22nd May 2026 . The exhibition is part of an ongoing research project, that will include future public events and a pop-up touring version of the exhibition.