One of the reasons the University of Sussex is a special place to study is the fact it has over 4,600 international students from more than 120 countries, so you never have to go far to meet someone who has a completely different perspective from your own.
Even off campus, there are cultural and art events constantly taking place in Brighton, making it a unique location for students from all backgrounds to learn something new, or maybe even be reminded of home.
The Brighton Festival is probably the most famous. It attracts some of the most innovative artists, dancers, writers, musicians and thinkers from around the world – and with many of the exhibitions free for entry, it's a must for any student. Here are a couple of our favourites from this year's event.
Ayomide Oluyemi on The British Library
East met West in a colourful setting at this year's Brighton Festival for Yinka Shonibare's exhibition called The British Library. Brighton Museum's Old Reference Library was filled with a swarm of colourful, patterned books, creating a space devoted to discussion of immigration. Even the material covering the books was a multi-cultural blend with links to Brixton, the Netherlands and Indonesia.
Shonibare was born in London, but spent most of his childhood in Nigeria before returning to Britain. The exhibition was a tribute to famous immigrants who had also made the UK their home, and their names were stamped on the spines of books that lined the shelves. Some of the names were more surprising than others – I spotted George II on one of the lower shelves, but he was undeniably an immigrant like all the rest, from TS Eliot to Henry James and Kazuo Ishiguro.
What I found powerful was the fact that the installation had been created to resemble a real library, a place of learning, reflecting Shonibare's ambition to challenge preconceptions about immigration. People wandered freely through the exhibition, browsing the rows of books and names. There were also digital screens, set on a bench mimicking a library's computer area, which played BBC news clips about contemporary immigration.
During the first year of my history degree, I've learnt about nationalism and the influences other countries have had on British culture. It was rewarding to be able to apply what I've read to my experience of the exhibition and more broadly to my surroundings in Brighton as a whole. The British Library was a wonderful part of my first festival.
Shweta Kothari on Bombay Talkies
Talvin Singh's exhibition Bombay Talkies was one of the most highly anticipated performances at this year's Brighton Festival, as the long queue for tickets outside Brighton Dome Concert Hall proved. Audience members came from across continents to hear the British Asian musician and Mercury Prize winner's celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema. It was a potent blend of film and live music brought to life through a re-invention of the score of the classic Indian movie Devi (1960).
I was captivated throughout the performance by its soulful music, successfully binding sounds from East and West in a mythical narrative. Talvin Singh, a masterful tabla player, was at his best but it was Roopa Panesar who stole the show with her graceful and seductive solo sitar. The ensemble also featured Chiranjib Chakraborthy on vocals, Meg-Rosaleen Hamilton on Violin and Zosia Jagodzinska on Cello
The synchronization of the live music to the facial expressions of the characters on-screen was meticulous, and the new score beautifully captured the emotions of an Indian woman shackled in patriarchy. The audience frequently broke into spontaneous applause amid the intense and mesmerising performance.
