A UNIQUE travelling exhibition opens today as part of a six-month tour around the region and the UK.
‘The Place I Call Home’ uses the medium of contemporary photography and film to explore what ‘home’ means to young people living in the Gulf and the UK at a time of rapid change and social mobility.
Exploring the theme of ‘home’, the work of the artists illustrates stories of culture, heritage, and challenges stereotypes whilst also exploring identities, commonalities and difference.
Selected artists whose work reflects the sense of home from photography shot in the UK and other Gulf countries will be showcased.
This will be alongside Bahraini documentary photography duo Mariam Al Arab and Hussain Almosawi, who is also GDN photographer and videographer.
The married couple’s showcase will feature a photo series of Bahraini immigrants finding ‘home’ in England.
“We named our project ‘Beyond home’ and it is a collaborative documentary that utilises conversations about home, immigration and citizenship, oral narratives and archival materials in an attempt to portray Bahraini immigrants as part of contemporary history,” said Mr Almosawi.
He said the project has been specially curated for “those who fear immigration and immigrants”.
He explained that throughout history, people have either voluntarily or unwillingly emigrated which has left profound effects on human life and civilisations.
In a journey that took the couple through London, Birmingham, Oxford and Sussex, they met with a group of Bahrainis who “arranged to consider England as their new homeland”.
“We were eager to explore their journey and how they built their lives where they are, interviewing them with fundamental questions to discuss the concept of ‘home’ not in the sense of geographical boundaries only but rather from an identity and belonging perspective,” he added.
Curator for the project and exhibition is Ffotogallery Wales director David Drake, who commissioned dynamic and emerging photographers and artists to produce work related to their experiences of living in the Gulf and the UK.
The exhibition will remain open to the public until January 31; every day from 8am to 8pm.
The event is being supported by the British Council.