SPACES OF (DIS)CONNECTION: MIGRANT ESSENTIAL WORKERS
02/09/2022 - 24/09/2022
Launching at Digbeth First Friday 6PM 02/09/22, details to follow.
spaces of (dis)connection follows a pioneering project conducted by researchers across the UK to investigate how the pandemic has affected the everyday lives and settlement plans of Polish workers in the UK. This exhibition combines newly commissioned photographic work by Małgorzata Dawidek, Paulina Korobkiewicz, and Sylwia Kowalczyk alongside anonymous testimonies given by Polish essential workers across the UK. The respective works speak to the changing public and private landscapes that resulted from the various lockdowns implemented by the English and Scottish governments. In exploring how spaces have transformed, through depopulation or increased habitation, the artists have produced uniquely insightful and intimate works. Be they spaces of connection or disconnection, these photographs evidence an environment affected by uncertainty and isolation.
The Migrant Essential Workers project has been developed by Prof. Sharon Wright, Dr Anna Gawlewicz, Dr Kasia Narkowicz, Dr Aneta Piekut and Dr Paulina Trevena, advised by Prof. Robert Gawłowski, Alicja Kaczmarek, Prof. Rebecca Kay, Prof. Majella Kilkey, and Dr Sarah Kyambi, with support from the Polish Social and Cultural Association, Polish Expats Association, Fife Migrants Forum, and PKAVS Minority Communities Hub, and funding from the UK Research and Innovation via the Economic and Social Research Council. spaces of (dis)connection has been curated by Centrala Director Alicja Kaczmarek and Arts Programme Coordinator Alice Reed.
Image by Paulina Korobkiewicz.
This exhibition is touring between Centrala, Birmingham [02-24.09.2022]
Clapham Library, London [30.09.-14.10.2022]
Art27, Edinburgh [Dates TBC]