Shamsia Hassani began painting the streets of Kabul in 2010, transforming walls marked by conflict into vivid images of women, often with closed eyes, carrying instruments, or moving through imagined spaces. Her work reclaims public space and challenges dominant narratives.
Claudia Janke is a London-based photographer whose work for this project centres on the Afghan box camera, a handmade instant camera that was one of the only photographic tools permitted under the first Taliban regime, used almost exclusively to photograph men for identity documents. Janke reclaims it as an instrument of portraiture and visibility, working alongside Afghan women who escaped the regime.
Mina Nazari is originally from Wardak and is a passionate Pashto speaker. She studied at Kabul University and obtained a master’s degree in literature. With a strong background in journalism, she has worked with BBC Media Action and the BBC Institute of Education. She enjoys writing poetry and children’s short stories, and she is also passionate about photography, capturing meaningful moments through the lens of her camera.
Joe Newman, Senior Communications Assistant with IOM UK, is a documentary filmmaker and photographer whose work explores migration, human rights, and social justice through intimate, human-centred storytelling. He produces documentary films, photography, podcasts, and visual campaigns across the UK, Europe, and Africa, documenting stories of displacement, integration, and identity. His work has been published in a variety of publications and featured in the National Portrait Gallery.
Marjan Wafa is from Herat and graduated in Journalism from Herat University in 2022. While she was still a student, she began her career in radio, television, and also international newspapers. Since then, she has received various awards and certificates for her work, including the titles “Best Reporter of the Year 1401” and “Journalist of the Year 1401.” She was also selected by the United Nations Development Programme as one of the top ten reporters. She has participated in several international conferences, including an in-person European Union conference in Brussels, where she spoke about the rights of women journalists.
Mohammad Osman Azizi is a Kabul-based multimedia storyteller and Communications Associate with IOM Afghanistan, where he documents migration, displacement, resilience and the lives of communities affected by crisis. With a background in journalism and communication, his work uses photography, videography and human-centred storytelling to highlight the dignity, strength and leadership of Afghan women rebuilding their lives amid uncertainty. Through his IOM Storyteller pieces and field-driven multimedia content, Osman has helped bring Afghan women’s experiences of return, livelihood, struggle and resilience to national and global audiences. His content has also been picked up and amplified by international media, including Al Jazeera and the BBC, contributing to wider understanding of Afghanistan’s humanitarian realities.
This exhibition is organised by IOM UK and hosted at Southwark Cathedral as part of the official Refugee Week 2026 programme. Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
About IOM
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the United Nations Migration Agency.
In the United Kingdom, IOM supports migration management by helping migrants and refugees to better integrate and by assisting receiving communities to recognize and support the positive contributions that migrants make. Our operations, policy and research include refugee resettlement and family reunion, migrant integration, diaspora engagement, immigration advice and support for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. The UK hosts one of IOM’s data analysis hubs, partnering with leading UK universities and think tanks to help increase understanding of global migration patterns and inform evidence-based policy and action.
IOM has a presence in over 170 countries around the world and has operated in Afghanistan since 1992, providing humanitarian assistance, livelihoods support, and protection services, particularly for women and girls. In the UK, IOM supports the resettlement of Afghans through programmes such as the Afghan Resettlement Programme, helping people prepare for their new lives and supporting the communities that receive them.
