A new art exhibition opening in Kirkby is one of six exhibitions to provide a glimpse into some of the City Region’s most diverse communities.
Delivered by Open Eye Gallery as part of this year’s Combined Authority Cultural Events Programme, ‘Photo Here’ involves groups, including refugees and asylum seekers, members of the LGBTQI+ community and D/deaf and BSL users, telling their stories and the stories of the areas they live in, with the help of professional ‘socially engaged photographers in residence’.
Workshops have been taking place across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral over the last few months as part of the cultural programme.
‘Communities of Welcome’ by Anoosh Ariamehr and his Knowsley group of merged refugees and asylum seekers launches on 19 June bringing stories of connection, identity and place to Kirkby Gallery.
Councillor Mike Wharton, Combined Authority Cabinet Member for Business, Investment and Trade said: “This year’s Cultural Events Programme is a conduit for helping create more cohesive communities across the Liverpool City Region.
“Giving the groups involved the opportunity to share their stories and experiences through photography – a medium that supersedes barriers like language – is unifying and can help to substantiate we have more similarities than differences, all of which should be celebrated.
“I hope everyone gets to visit at least one of the exhibitions as they take place across the city region this summer.”
Sarah Fisher, Executive Director of the Open Eye Gallery said: “We are anticipating some fabulous work to be featured in the exhibitions from our socially engaged photography groups and are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase them across the Liverpool City Region.
“We are also hoping that many of our community photographers will enter this year’s LCR Photography Awards which we are working hard to launch in the next couple of weeks. It would be a great achievement, having witnessed the progress of the projects, to see their pictures included.”
The ‘Communities of Welcome’ exhibition by Anoosh Ariamehr and the Communities of Welcome community group runs at Kirkby Gallery from Thursday 19 June to Friday 29 August.