“See It Our Way”: Hereford Comes To Birmingham
We can’t be accused of shying away from challenging subject matter for our exhibitions here at fotofilia. As part of the Hereford Photography Festival, our next exhibition, “See It Our Way” is a look at human trafficking from the point of view of those whose lives are touched by it.
Here’s some more about the exhibition, as well as PhotoVoice and The Photographic Angle, the organisations behind the exhibition…
“Trafficking is the term used to describe the trade in people – for whatever reason. It could be for manual labour, domestic work, prostitution,
begging rings or babies for childless couples. In all cases, someone is making money out of another human being; it is modern day slavery. The issue is widespread, and often simplified in the media so that activities that involve the exploitation and degradation of a human being are not perceived as trafficking, or even as a crime.
In 2010, international charities PhotoVoice and World Vision joined forces to run photography workshops with young people from communities affected by human trafficking and child slavery across Middle East and Eastern Europe. The countries involved were Albania, Armenia, Lebanon, Romania and Pakistan. The risks and realities of human trafficking are different in each country, and between them they represent source, transit and destination countries used by traffickers.
The young people participating in the project used their new photography skills to explore the risks and impact of human trafficking on them
and their communities. In some cases this process caused them to reconsider what can count as exploitation. The work is being used locally and
internationally to raise awareness and myth-bust about the reality of human trafficking, and to shed light on what can be done to stop people becoming victims to exploitation.
This exhibition has been generously curated and produced by The Photographic Angle as part of the Voices exhibition that is touring Britain throughout September – December 2011.
The Photographic Angle holds free exhibitions that travel across the UK transforming vacant spaces into temporary galleries. The exhibitions showcase the contemporary work from students, graduates and enthusiasts of the art of photography giving the public the chance to see the current practices from this dynamic field. http://thephotographicangle.co.uk
PhotoVoice is an international charity that designs and runs participatory photography projects with marginalised and vulnerable communities in order to give them a means to speak out, be heard and become active agents for social change. http://www.photovoice.org”
“See It Our Way” runs at fotofilia from 31st October until 23rd November. The launch is at 5-7pm on Monday 31st October with a short presentation by Matt Daw of PhotoVoice and Antony Riley of The Photographic Angle at 5:30pm. All are welcome.
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