Creative Sanctuary: Refugees at Dartington in the 1930s and Beyond

By Monica Bohm-Duchen

A two-day online symposium held on 20-21 October 2023 exploring the little-known fact that in the 1930s Dartington Hall in Devon was an important place of sanctuary for refugees from Fascist Europe and a rich site of cultural interchange was organised under the auspices of Insiders/Outsiders in partnership with Counterpoints Arts. The symposium was timed to coincide with the 2023 Platforma Festival produced by Counterpoints, which was held in the South West of England, and was included in its programme.

Dartington Hall, established by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst in the late 1920s as a utopian agricultural and educational experiment, became a much-needed place of refuge for a significant number of eminent creative individuals, who because of their Jewish background and/or anti-fascist stance, were forced to leave Germany (and later, Austria) after 1933. Spanish Republicans fleeing the Spanish Civil War were also welcomed.

Comprising a lively and informal mixture of illustrated talks straddling multiple art forms (fine and applied arts, architecture, dance and music), discussions, Q&A sessions, film screenings and a music recital, the Creative Sanctuary programme was aimed at both a general and a specialist audience, local, national and international.

The symposium, which drew on the very latest archival researches by established and early career scholars alike, fills an significant gap in twentieth century British cultural and social history and act as a spur to further research. An anthology of essays based on the talks given at the symposium is already being planned as part of the project’s natural legacy.

Crucially, the Creative Sanctuary project aims to make links between past and present. By examining the experiences (not all of them positive) and celebrating the achievements and legacy of one particular generation of refugees, it demonstrates in an emotionally engaging and non-didactic way the importance of welcoming all refugees and the ways in which they so richly contribute to the cultural life of their adoptive countries.

The symposium was kindly supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, Shoresh Charitable Trust, the Elmgrant Trust and Counterpoints Arts.

Image: Hans Keller teaching at Summer School of Music, Dartington Hall