Our Culture Radar guest this week is Digital Marketing, Communications and Content Producer at Open Eye Gallery, Maria Gulina.
Loved: I love the current exhibition at Open Eye Gallery. It’s called A Place Of Our Own and it brings together the local stories of people across Walton (North Liverpool), Prescot (Knowsley) and Chester town centre. All the works produced are examples of socially engaged projects, meaning that photographers and local communities have come together to co-author work which best reflects their local area. Whilst the three projects show varying views and responses to each location, what connects them is a clear pride in people’s memories and associations with each place.
Looking forward to: I’m really looking forward to the next project we are working on: LOOK Climate Lab 2024! We’ll be bringing together researchers and artists to show how photography can be a relevant and powerful medium for talking about climate change, and the events programme is looking very exciting. Mark your calendars: we’re opening on 18th January 2024.
Trivia: It was sad (but eye-opening) to learn more about Roma and Traveller communities. One of our socially engaged photographers, Ciara Leeming, worked with Roma and Traveller girls and women, to produce a zine and an exhibition. Roma and Traveller communities are already among the most marginalised in Britain – with a life expectancy 10-12 years below the national average. They face a lot of stereotypes, and I hope that our exhibition and the zine with their honest and brave stories will encourage empathy and understanding.