A moving image, taken earlier this year, of a mother and her child at the refugee camp in Calais (Photograph: Paul Stringer)
Local photographers and visual artists have collaborated to create a portable, pop-up art exhibition, in the hopes of raising awareness and funds for refugees facing dire situation in the makeshift camp in Calais in northern France.
Photographers Paul Stringer and Rizwan Ali Dar of Stand Up To Racism Birmingham have joined forces with curator Jess Davies, as well as visual artists Jonny Graney and Dale Hipkiss, to create an installation built entirely out of donated wood and tarpaulin; materials which will eventually be donated to the refugees living in the camps after the exhibit has finished.
The one-day exhibit – titled Critical Conditions – features images taken during Rizwan and Paul’s recent documentation of their Autumn visits to the camp, during which they delivered supplies and donations as part of the city’s Stand Up To Racism delegation.
The installation itself – which is being hosted at the Impact Hub in Digbeth – has been built to be transportable, with an intimate space to hold a small group of people.
Documentary photographer and filmmaker Paul Stringer explained:
“Having visited the camp only twice, it’s already very easy to see that living conditions are dangerously poor. We should be trying to help our fellow humans in any way possible.”
The Critical Conditions exhibition will showcase the work of artists including Rizwan Ali Dar and Paul Stringer
Jonathan Charles Graney and Dale Hipkiss are a Birmingham-based contemporary art collaborative. Their work centres around ideas of displacement in a local and global context. Employing sculpture, installation and performance, they create temporary spaces that open a dialogue about loss, refuge and survival.
According to the duo, this current piece is simultaneously in a state of settling or transition, loosely held together or deconstructed and scattered. The space holds images of real people whose lives have been uprooted by greed, power and industry but for this moment of settling it becomes a contemplative space.
A series of musicians and poets will be performing within the space, alongside an open invitation for other performers to request open mic slots. Due to the nature of this transportable, outdoor installation – all performances will be acoustic.
Curator Jess Davies said:
“Exploring the ideas behind community and the challenges involved with constructing a shelter within a short space of time has raised further questions for us all. Using arts to humanise the faces behind the title of refugee has been a great opportunity to create further discussion and on a personal level, bring us slightly closer to the reality of what people living within refugee camps are facing.”
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The ‘Critical Conditions’ launch event is 6pm-8:30pm, on 4th December at Impact Hub Birmingham and is supported by Stand Up To Racism Birmingham, Impact Hub Birmingham and Jericho Wood Recycling. For more information, check out; Critical Conditions – Launch Night on Facebook.
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