In this episode, Cassia from Arts4Refugees talks with Esme - a student journalist working with us on a placement organised by the Oxford University Career Services. Esme has just finished her French and Arabic degree. She has worked in the past for refugee charities such as Care for Calais. She has been researching Lucie Rie - a Jewish ceramicist born in Austria who moved to the UK after her home country was annexed by the Nazis under Hitler.
After she moved to England, Lucie Rie had difficulty getting a ceramics licence due to her refugee status. In spite of this, she managed to continue her work in the UK and set up her own new studio. She contributed to the fashion industry by turning her skills in ceramics to making accessories such as buttons and jewellery. While working in the UK she employed other refugees, thus combining her artistic talents with her desire to support those who had faced a similar situation to her own.
You can listen to the full conversation here.
Key Points:
Esme has just completed her joint honours degree in French and Arabic
Aside from her work with Bizgees, Esme has experience working directly with refugees alongside organisations such as Care for Calais
Lucie Rie is a Jewish refugee born in Austria moved to England following the Nazi Occupation of her home country in 1938
She employed fellow refugees after she found her way through the system in the UK
She was awarded an DBE (female version of KBE) in 1991.
If you would like to learn more about Lucie - there is a short story by Esme here.
