Homelands, Zuzana Hruskova
Homelands
Homelands was a community residency project initiated by D6 taking place in the North East region over a three-year period, including residencies in the UK for regional and international artists to connect with our Diaspora communities.
Homelands explores ideas of home, migration and a collective sense of belonging. The project supported a shared cultural language of expression, promoting a better mutual understanding, and supported people to express a strong sense of identity, arming them with the confidence and tools to combat prejudice.
In our first year, we were delighted to work with North East based Slovakian artist Zuzana Hruskova and Marek Šulík, a filmmaker based in Bratislava. They worked closely with families from the Slovak and Czech Roma community in the west end of Newcastle to create Messenger, a short film made up of video and photo letters. Working between Benwell, Newcastle, and various areas of Slovakia they documented Roma families recording messages in the form of videos, photographs, handwritten letters and audio recordings, which were carefully delivered from migrant families based in the UK to relatives back in Slovakia. Their responses were filmed and the process was repeated. The work opened many unexpected doors, reconnecting relatives who haven't spoken for years, bringing together a man with the young girl who once saved his life and prompting an entire family to set off on a road trip from Newcastle to Slovakia. Through summer 2012 we exhibited photography, video and installation work at the Settle Down Cafe. The evocative and affecting work shed light on the reasons why these families migrated, sharing diverse experiences and common humanity.
In the second year of Homelands we continued to work with Zuzana Hruskova, exploring themes of isolation within the home and community with Roma women. Zuzana visited Roma women in their homes and created photography and film footage with the women, documenting the environments they feel safe in to create a body of work titled NO GOLD UNDER MY SKIN. Zuzana also created THE ROYALS, an installation of hand-painted plates created in collaboration with a native artists from the Roma community. Eva Karchnakova a young Changemaker worked with Zuzana throughout the project.
Homelands is supported by Northern Rock Foundation, Newcastle City Council and the ‘Make Your Mark’ fund.
Homelands explores ideas of home, migration and a collective sense of belonging. The project supported a shared cultural language of expression, promoting a better mutual understanding, and supported people to express a strong sense of identity, arming them with the confidence and tools to combat prejudice.
In our first year, we were delighted to work with North East based Slovakian artist Zuzana Hruskova and Marek Šulík, a filmmaker based in Bratislava. They worked closely with families from the Slovak and Czech Roma community in the west end of Newcastle to create Messenger, a short film made up of video and photo letters. Working between Benwell, Newcastle, and various areas of Slovakia they documented Roma families recording messages in the form of videos, photographs, handwritten letters and audio recordings, which were carefully delivered from migrant families based in the UK to relatives back in Slovakia. Their responses were filmed and the process was repeated. The work opened many unexpected doors, reconnecting relatives who haven't spoken for years, bringing together a man with the young girl who once saved his life and prompting an entire family to set off on a road trip from Newcastle to Slovakia. Through summer 2012 we exhibited photography, video and installation work at the Settle Down Cafe. The evocative and affecting work shed light on the reasons why these families migrated, sharing diverse experiences and common humanity.
In the second year of Homelands we continued to work with Zuzana Hruskova, exploring themes of isolation within the home and community with Roma women. Zuzana visited Roma women in their homes and created photography and film footage with the women, documenting the environments they feel safe in to create a body of work titled NO GOLD UNDER MY SKIN. Zuzana also created THE ROYALS, an installation of hand-painted plates created in collaboration with a native artists from the Roma community. Eva Karchnakova a young Changemaker worked with Zuzana throughout the project.
Homelands is supported by Northern Rock Foundation, Newcastle City Council and the ‘Make Your Mark’ fund.
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