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Irish culture captured on film for exhibition
 By
David Thorpe
An Irish photographer has chronicled the lives of the Irish community
in north London and hopes to turn her pictures into a book.
For the last three years Meath-born snapper Kim Cunningham has built up
a collection of images detailing the lives of visitors to St. Joseph’s
Social Centre in Highgate.
The Masters in Documentary Photography student visited the Irish Centre
regularly to take the photographs, which will now form the centrepiece
of her final year show.
The 33-year-old also hopes to include the snaps in a book which will aim
to capture the area’s rich Irish heritage.
Having lived in Highgate for about eight years she said: “In many
ways visiting the Irish Centre is like visiting a different world.
“I first became aware of it when I moved to the area and got to
know the people, so when I was looking to photograph something for my
exhibition, it seemed to be the natural choice.
“Irish heritage is preserved very well there but most of the members
are elderly and I wanted to photograph it as a way of preserving Irish
culture in North London.
“It is a culture which exists throughout Britain but is facing a
lot of challenges.
“Irish centres all over Britain are facing the problem of declining
members and a lot of centres, including the one in Highgate, are threatened
with closure.”
Despite initially taking on the challenge as an academic exercise, it
has now come to mean more to the Irish woman than she had anticipated.
She said: “I started doing this as a project for university but
it has come to mean more to me than that.”
The photographer has just completed a Masters in Documentary Photography
and next month will display the photographs at an exhibition in the University
of Wales in Newport.
Ms Cunningham also plans to take her display to London early next year
and then hopes to publish the images in a book.
She said: “I hope that the Irish community will get behind my project
and help us to create a permanent memorial to Irish culture in Britain.”
n If you would like to sponsor Kim Cunningham’s exhibition or book
contact 079 4122 7729 or email: kim.cunningham@ mac.com. |
