Refugee Festival Scotland 2026 marks 75 years of the Refugee Convention by celebrating the creativity, resilience and talent of people and communities across the nation through this year’s Small Grants and Arts Open awardees. From grassroots community projects to bold artistic performances, these inspiring initiatives showcase the power of culture, storytelling and collaboration to spark connection, amplify diverse voices and shape a more welcoming Scotland. 

In 2026, our Small Grants programme is supporting 50 community groups and organisations across Scotland to deliver creative, inclusive and community-led projects. From festival programmes and exhibitions to food, sport and storytelling, these initiatives celebrate culture, strengthen connections between communities and create welcoming spaces for refugees and people seeking asylum across Scotland. 

Small Grants Spotlights

Hebridean Refugee Community 

The Hebridean Refugee Community is a grassroots group based in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, supporting migrants in the Outer Hebrides by building connections and creating welcoming spaces for cultural, educational and social exchange. Established by members of the refugee community alongside the Council’s Resettlement Team, the group promotes inclusion, solidarity and mutual support through community-led activity. 

Building on this work, they are organising the Hebridean Refugee Festival, a week of free events taking place across local venues including An Lanntair Arts Centre, Stornoway Library and Lews Castle Grounds. The programme will feature talks, music, film, exhibitions and food, encouraging social interaction, learning and cultural sharing. A key highlight will be a personal talk from a migrant sharing his journey from Afghanistan to the Western Isles. 

By bringing people together through stories, arts and shared experiences, the festival aims to foster understanding, celebrate diversity and strengthen connections across the community. 

Rainbow Muslim Women’s Group 

Rainbow Muslim Women’s Group is an award-winning charity based in Falkirk. Building on the success of community events in Refugee Festival Scotland in 2024 and 2025 and working in partnership with Kite Club of Scotland and D2 the Creative Centre, Larbert, they are planning a celebration to welcome refugees and asylum seekers alike. 

Professional tutors will offer free art workshops for families to create 3D sculptures and self-portraits drawing on personal experience and diverse cultural traditions and will work alongside asylum seekers living in a local hotel, offering them the chance for self-expression and creative exploration. Artworks will be displayed as part of D2’s summer art exhibition and at a later date in Callendar House in Falkirk. 

The festival will culminate on Saturday 20^th June with an open kite-flying event on Bo’ness Foreshore, back by popular demand, including a home-cooked picnic provided by Rainbow Muslim Women’s Group. All welcome!

Radio Buena Vida 

Radio Buena Vida is a Glasgow-based community radio platform championing emerging and established talent from underrepresented voices and communities. Through internet radio, workshops, events and training, they create accessible cultural opportunities for those facing barriers, including refugees and people seeking asylum. 

Building on this work, they are delivering Voices Without Borders, a collaborative two-hour live radio programme created and presented by six New Scots who are resident volunteers at the station. Through supported workshops, participants will co-produce and host a show sharing music, cultural heritage, migration journeys and hopes for the future, alongside guest contributions from people with lived experience of seeking refuge in Scotland. 

The programme will be broadcast live from Café Buena Vida as part of a free public celebration event and streamed globally through partner stations during the festival. By centring refugee voices and creativity, the project creates a welcoming space for connection, storytelling and cultural exchange, both locally and internationally. 

Arts Open awardees

In 2026, the Arts Open programme will be supporting showcases of work by alternative hip-hop live collective Makongo, visual artist Alena Bezushko and performance artist Maimouna Ly. 

Makongo

Makongo is a musical project from Glasgow, Scotland, a progressive and genre fluid music ensemble that blends hip-hop, afrobeats, jazz, punk funk and other influences. The group is made up of local and migrant musicians, spanning 7 different nations, who are united by the desire to create a sound that is both unique and meaningful. The name Makongo comes from vocalist Ngana’s maternal surname, meaning “problem” in Kimbundu. 

During the Festival, Makongo will present a special concert with invited guests where they will perform songs from their debut album, Passport, with lyrics mixing Portuguese, English, Spanish, German, and Kimbundu. Confronting borders, identity and belonging, the album was released earlier this year and produced independently by the band in Glasgow. 

Alena Bezushko 

Alena Bezushko is a visual artist working with sculpture and ceramic, currently living in North Lanarkshire. Alena started her career as an architect, graduating from Lviv Polytechnic University in Ukraine in 2001, and is now completing an Art and Design BA at Forth Valley College.   

Alena’s sculptures represent her emotions in sculptural metaphors. In her own words: 

“Created through improvisation and instinct, my works reflect my inner world, transformation of emotions, and the connection between the human body, the psyche and the outside world. My current works explore identity and traumas, inner tension and psychological shifts on the journey of a new chapter of my life, trying to find my own place in a new country.” 

During the Festival, Alena will be showcasing a sculptural installation incorporating elements in ceramic, clay, burnt wood and metal. 

Maimouna Ly 

Maimouna is an Edinburgh-based multidisciplinary artist working across voice, performance, sound, and storytelling. She approaches voice as both movement and memory, a way of carrying stories across time, place, and experience. Her work explores belonging, identity, and the traces we hold in the body. 

Rooted in early experiences of community theatre, singing, and movement, her practice weaves personal fragments with collective echoes.  

Maimouna will be presenting a new solo performance titled Listening for Home, inviting audiences into a shared space of deep listening, where personal and collective stories resonate across time and place. 

Image Credits:

Moreno Samuel

Rainbow Muslim Women’s Group

Iain Mclen

Alena Bezushko

Maimouna Ly