Mark the beginning of LDF25 with an exhibition by LAGO Collective & King’s College London in the historic Bush House. Through beautiful visualisations and sonification, award-winning information designer Federica Fragapane & data artist Tiziana Alocci give shape and sound to data on visa rejections and their costs.

Every year, millions of people are denied short-stay visas to Europe for work, study or leisure. In 2024 alone, these rejections cost travellers €145 million in non-refundable fees, with applicants from Africa and Asia bearing nearly 90% of the costs. Rejection rates were 40-50% for countries like Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria: these high refusal rates limit cultural and academic exchange as artists, scholars and professionals from low and middle-income countries face insurmountable barriers to travel.

We explore the power of information and sound design to give voice to the many who are affected by profoundly unequal visa regimes. This exhibition is dedicated to all those who cannot attend LDF and similar international events due to visa restrictions.

The exhibition is part of 'All Other Passports’, a research and creative project on the impact of visa inequality led by LAGO Collective, supported by Robert Bosch Stiftung, with data analysis by research scientists Verdiana Pasqualini and Otho Mantegazza.

This intimate opening and coffee reception offers a unique opportunity to experience design at the intersection of data and global policy and to join conversations with some of the collaborators behind the work.

When: Saturday 13 September 2025, 11:00am-12:30pm

Where: King’s College London, Bush House, 30 Aldwych, WC2B 4BG

Speakers: Professor Roberta Comunian (Professor of Creative Economies, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries), Professor Eka Ikpe (Director, King’s College African Leadership Centre), Marta Foresti (Founder & CEO, LAGO Collective), Tiziana Alocci (Data Artist).