The bursary assignment is just one aspect of a much bigger, longer term project. In visits to the remote rural areas of Romania we plan to record the lifestyle and personal stories of the magical people that live there. By making this work accessible to a wide audience, we may allow some of their wisdom, and their way of living in harmony with nature, to be carried forward into the future. We hope to make involvement in the project rewarding and will find a way of allowing them and their families to access the records we create. We will tell their stories with respect and sensitivity and aim to raise awareness of how they live, what is good about their lifestyle and the challenges they face.
Photographically, our aim is to allow others to see people from these communities in their normal environment carrying out everyday tasks or showing glimpses of their souls through candid portraits.
The project will include text, audio and video recordings to accompany the images. We hope to create an exhibition, a book, fine art prints, an online gallery and produce talks and articles to help others better understand this lifestyle.
A proportion of any profits will be donated to charity for the benefit of the communities taking part in the project.