Part of the Festival of Migration collection Inherited Incantations – an installation led by Shatha Altowai and communities in Edinburgh, Scotland and Hadhramaut, Yemen. Inherited Incantation explores the “incantation” practices of family protection in different cultures. Led by award winning artist Shatha Altowai, this multi-sensory installation has been developed and created through an exchange driven by women communities in Edinburgh and Hadhramaut, Yemen. Inherited Incantation refers to the shared motivation of women all over the world to protect their families from harm. This deep primal instinct has taken shape in physical form through charms, songs, embodied creative expressions, oils and water, nature and metals etc for millenia and is common to all cultures. These potent symbols and objects continue to prove meaningful today although they are often more of folk culture than magic. Yet in some cultures the line between folk memory and religious practice is uncomfortably thin and an ever-present risk to women’s safety in an increasingly fundamental world. I chose this theme because safety and community are important to me. I believe that by sharing knowledge and experiences across different cultures, we can build connections and promote understanding. To me, culture is all about coexisting and merging within the community. For me, expressing culture in a society that is culturally different from my own can be a challenge, but I always strive to search for commonalities and connections rather than focusing on differences and contradictions. She notes one comment from a participant during the workshops that stood out for her “”What was once accepted as tradition may now be recognised [in Scotland] as a form of discrimination”. “I believe that cultural integration is a two-way street, and by being open and willing to learn from each other, we can build a stronger and more inclusive community together” Shatha Altowai. When Shatha started this project she was struck by how important these material and intangible cultural expressions are, particularly in a forced migration experience, and how familiar ways of life that may be forgotten regain significance and provide comfort in a world where human beings have little control of what is happening to them. As an artist-in-exile, Shatha’s lived experience strongly informs her artistic practice as she negotiates her future through shifts of identity and perspective brought about by displacement. This creative community exchange is made up of artworks from women in Edinburgh, many of whom have a migration background, and a small group of women artists through a transnational partnership with Artzone gallery in Yemen. Our thanks go to Abeer at Artzone for her guidance and support. The installation will be exhibited in both Yemen and Scotland during the Festival of Migration.