Our Sites, Traveller children in East London, UK (PP)
Our Sites, East London, UK
Organisation: On Site Arts
Project Managers: Bobby Lloyd and Caroline Christie
Gallery coming soon
On Site Arts ran workshops with Gypsy and Traveller children and young people between June 2004 and May 2005 on three caravan sites in an area of East London in the UK which is undergoing major regeneration and change. Using basic cameras they have photographed themselves, their families and homes, and the landscapes around their caravan sites on which they live.
Travelling families have moved through this part of London since the mid 1880's. The current sites documented in OUR SITES are in Newham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The site in Newham has been on the same plot for over 34 years and lies next to the Stratford Channel Tunnel Rail Link building works. It is the home of four generations of English Gypsies. The site in Hackney was built 12 years ago for Irish Travellers who had been living on the roadside in the borough for many years. The extended family living on the unauthorised site has to move around the area, as the family has no legal plot to settle on.
The broader context for this exhibition is the way in which issues about land regeneration are directly impacting upon Gypsies and Travellers. Gypsy and Traveller communities are ethnic groups amongst many in the UK, with the same rights and desires to be part of the wider community yet often marked out due to their particular accommodation needs for caravan sites. For the families living on sites involved in this project, land that was previously cheap and of low marketable value has now become prime territory for regeneration. There are currently no certain offers of land for these families.
This project has taken place with the support of the London Gypsy and Traveller Unit, which works on sites and runs youth groups for Gypsies and Travellers in East London.
On Site Arts is a small non-profit arts organisation working with hard-to-reach communities in East London. It is run by Bobby Lloyd and Caroline Christie who are artists, photographers and art therapists. They offer basic photographic and other visual arts skills largely to children and young people, to enable them to visually document their environments, lives and experiences. On Site Arts also aims to challenge public perceptions through exhibitions. For further information email info@onsitearts.org or visit www.onsitearts.org