In  April 2015 Romani Week Festival   kicked off.   As part of the 2015 festival, I teamed up with photographer Antony Weir for the “Family Matters/Chestiuni de familie” Romani Photo Exhibition.  The exhibition leaflet  Family_Matters_Leaflet  gives you some backstory on the project. The event would not have been possible without the support of the Roma Project and the various families.

The story behind the pictures….

The photo exhibition was born out of a deep appreciation and respect for the Romanian Roma families who are part of the Roma Project Coventry. The Roma Project Coventry has a drop-in session at the Broad Street Centre in Foleshill, Coventry where the women gather to learn English and the children play, sing and paint together. These brave women and I, at the time, had been meeting for almost a year working hard on learning English. The inclusive community that we had built was possible due to their willingness to commit and embrace new things and experiences.

Antony and I met over coffee December 2014, and the Roma Coventry Project was discussed and my deep admiration for the Roma Women and families was the centre of our conversation. His intent listening and my love for these families suddenly gave birth to the idea of a Roma Family Picture day. I said that I would love to do something nice for them and a family picture would be wonderful. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words… and so “Family Matters/Chestiuni de familie” was born.