Context

The Roma people originated from India around 1000 years ago and are currently Europe’s largest ethnic minority.  However, widespread ignorance of Roma culture has meant prejudice against the Roma is still common in mainstream society. 

Roma culture is rich with stories and songs that have been passed down verbally for generations, and storytelling sessions can go on for many hours.  For centuries these stories have been told only to a chosen few. This project aims to empower children as writers and artists as well as creating a greater awareness of the richness of Roma stories.

Aims & principles

The principle of the project was to empower young Roma to value their culture and preserve it for future generations.
Akademia Pstryk promotes social empowerment and creativity and teaches young people how to use pinhole photography in arts projects. Their philosophy is that it is possible to make “something of nothing” and they undertake innovative projects with minimal expenditure.

The Children’s Society is a leading national charity committed to making childhood better for all children.  For 13 years we have been working in partnership with young Roma in East London on issues such as education, health and cultural awareness raising.

Summary

In the midst of the credit crunch, a group of 7 to 14 year old Roma children in East London showed you don’t need expensive digital cameras to produce professional photographs or storybooks.

The young people, whose first language was not English, used images and drama to write the text alongside storytellers from different communities, including the Roma community.

Working with Akademia Pstryk and The Children Society, this group of talented young people used pinhole photography to produce a story and picture book that teaches people about their culture.  1,500 copies of the book will be given away at public events, and it will also be available to download online.

In Practice

The group chose to work with a traditional story of a family threatened by the mysterious Bumbarumbum living secretly at the top of their house.  The story is that one-day, the mother of the family sends her children to fetch the smoked meat from the attic for her cooking, but they don’t return. It is only when the father of the family returns to a silent house that the Bumbarumbum finally meets its match.

With the help of Akademia Pstryk, the group have illustrated the story using pinhole photographs.  This little-known technique is not only a cheaper alternative to digital photography, it is also very environmentally friendly.  Using cardboard boxes, paper and chemicals no longer needed by professional labs, the young people made their own cameras and developed their own photos.

The children worked to write their own version of the story, illustrating it with photographs and pictures, to make an attractive and vibrant storybook.

Partnerships

The work was funded by the Arts Council, The Consulate of the Republic of Poland, Akademia Pstryk (http://www.ClickAcademy.co.uk) and The Children’s Society (http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk).

Outcomes

During Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month (June 2009) the children will be taking to the streets of Newham and the South Bank in London to give away copies of their books to parents and children as well as teaching members of the public how to do pinhole photography themselves. 

 

 

Resources

For more information check the project weblog on http://bumburumbum.blogspot.com/ 

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