From the 8th September to the 12th September 2021, Friends Families & Travellers will be holding an art exhibition at Phoenix Art Space, 10-14 Waterloo Place, Brighton BN2 9NB. The exhibition is free to attend and will be available to access between 11am and 5pm daily.
‘Around the Yog’ is an exhibition inspired by an exciting community project led by Brighton based charity Friends, Families & Travellers and supported by the National Lottery Community Fund. The ‘Around the Yog’ community project facilitates traditional skill sharing and intergenerational learning within Gypsy, Traveller and nomadic communities in West Sussex.
Traditionally, travelling people have utilised their crafts and skills to make a living. These skills are passed down from generation to generation. For hundreds of years this has been an important part of British history and industry. The ‘Around the Yog’ project aims to continue this skill sharing and harvest positive relationships between diverse groups of people within Gypsy, Traveller and nomadic communities.
This eclectic exhibition brings together traditional crafts and contemporary artworks from a selection of some of the country’s most talented Gypsy, Roma, Traveller and nomadic individuals, provides a space to celebrate their skills and an opportunity to share their work with the wider community.
All of the work shown in this exhibition illustrates beautifully the exhibitors’ wide range of artisan skills and also expresses the sometimes hidden cultures and heritage of the wide and varied nomadic communities of Britain and Ireland which is currently under threat of being criminalised by new anti-trespass laws in the UK Government’s Police Bill.
Speaking about the exhibition, Martha Ostick, Engagement Worker and Project Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers said:
“Over the last two years this community project has highlighted the eclectic range of skills and talents within our communities – the importance of being able to share this with the wider public has become more and more relevant with current political issues. Having the opportunity to celebrate the varied Gypsy, Roma, Traveller and nomadic cultures through visual art is something that is so important to enable conversation and connection between the settled and travelling communities in a neutral space.”
To find out more, visit the Phoenix Art Space website.
Notes for Editor
About Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT)
Friends, Families and Travellers is a leading national charity that works to end racism and discrimination against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and to protect the right to pursue a nomadic way of life.
Media Contact
Lucy Hetherington, Communications Officer
Tel: 07425 419853 Email: lucy@gypsy-traveller.org
