Exhibition to Showcase Ashburton’s Migrant Community

Exhibition to Showcase Ashburton’s Migrant Community

16 May 2016

A photography and film exhibition launching this weekend to coincide with UNESCO’s World Day for Cultural Diversity will showcase Ashburton’s richly diverse migrant community.

Crossing the Bridge is a project which incorporates elements of anthropology, photography and film.

Click here to watch the trailer.

The outdoor photo exhibition opens to the public this Saturday 21st of May underneath the clock tower in Baring Square.

The project has been led by Mauritian anthropologist Sophie-Claire Violette and Belgian photographer Petra Mingneau. The duo have photographed and written accompanying biographies of 22 migrants who have chosen to call Ashburton home.

“The migrants come from countries as diverse as Ireland and Nigeria. They come from all walks of life and each has a different story to tell. We wanted to capture these stories and share them with the rest of the world to celebrate the diversity which helps make Ashburton and New Zealand such exciting places to live,” explains Violette.

“Migrants are stereotyped and misunderstood. Migrants and locals have many things in common but we often focus on the differences rather than what we share. This project embraces both.

Initially intended to be solely an anthro-photographic project, Crossing the Bridge has evolved to incorporate a film element, undertaken by Argentinian filmmaker Vanesa Paredes and Ashburton art teacher Lucy Holland.

“Interviewing the migrants on film has been incredibly rewarding,” says Violette. “The photos, film and anthropological lens compliment one another: each captures something the other does not.”

“There were tears, there was plenty of laughter, and there have been some incredible stories told during the interviews. Ade from Nigeria is one of the strongest women I’ve ever met, and Yep, from Hong Kong, was one of the first Chinese migrants to call Ashburton home in 1949.”

The film will be shown alongside the portraits and photographs that migrants have taken with disposable cameras to capture moments, people, places which tell their stories.

The exhibition runs for 10 days and is free of charge. It is being kindly supported by Safer Ashburton, Canon, Ashburton District Council, The Lion Foundation, Creative New-Zealand, Real Estate New-Zealand and the Zonta Club of Ashburton.

Journalists are invited to attend the preview evening on Friday the 20th of May.

ENDS

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