Popa photographed the women in a variety of environments that give stark and revealing context to their tragic stories. To balance the hard documentary facts of the message, the images in the series are filled with a sense of loss, reverie and foreboding. And there is a wider message about identity since the faces are rarely seen.

Natasha is a nickname given to prostitutes with Eastern European looks, and sex trafficked girls hate it. I photographed sex trafficked women after they had returned to Moldova to show how they managed to live in a world that knows nothing of their suffering, and with the huge shadow of fear that their mother or husband might find out and throw them out in the street. To respect their anonymity, these women’s names have been changed.
Dana Popa

About the photographer

Dana Popa graduated in 2006 with an MA in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism from London College of Communication. She was awarded the Jerwood Photography prize for the first series of the project. Autograph ABP, a photographic arts agency that promotes cultural identity and human rights commissioned the rest of the project and published it as an artists book ‘Not Natasha’ available from www.autograph-abp.co.uk

Check FOMACS at http://www.fomacs.org for more info – and check their Facebook page here.

**In addition there will be a projection of student’s most recent, individual projects, shown in the City Arts Theatre throughout the duration of the exhibition.

About the photographers

Alison Baker Kerrigan is a Dublin born photographer now entering her final year studying a BA (Hons) in Photography in IADT. She draws on inspiration from relationships and the experiential, and through familiarisation of a subject matter she encourages the viewer to engage in the narrative of her images.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Christine Ann Jones splits her time between Ireland and the US. Her photography combines the reality of the world around her with the fantasy that she sees in her mind, creating a tilting perception of what is, and what could be.

Originally from Germany, Claudi Nir has been living in Ireland for the past 11 years and is currently studying for a BA (Hons) in photography. Her photographic practice is inspired by everyday observations, people’s lives and social concerns. With her thought provoking images she encourages the viewer to critically engage with her subject matter.

Eoin Shiel’s work comes from an interest in expressing the world to others as he sees it
himself. Through photography, all avenues are open to him in how he portrays those who he encounters and the things he believes he is lucky enough to experience.

Born and raised in Germany, Henning Koestler emigrated to Ireland in 2003 where he is
currently studying for a degree in Photography. As a photographer and an observer, his
choice of subject derives from intuition and interest, fuelled by the desire to partake in the stories that unfold around him.

Marcus Cassidy is currently studying for a BA (hons) in photography. His interests spread over a wide spectrum of photographic practices concerned with the ‘everyday’, often taking on a poetic representation of the subject matter. His work is very versatile and experimental including projections and video alongside his photographs.

Megan Gallagher is a young photographer who produces her photographs on film and hand prints her black and white images. She is also currently exploring the medium of colour film. Her work is centered around her personal everyday life, a position that shifts and changes as she experiences different societies, cityscapes and environments during her travels.

Born in Galway, Orla O’Brien is currently studying for a BA (Hons) in photography in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. Her interests in portraiture and social documentary were sparked by her love of interacting with people and listening to their stories. Photography became her medium for expressing and sharing these stories.

Currently Madeleine Collin’s art practice is based on exploring memory and loss. Her
photographs have been described as sensitive and contemplative. The images presented in the exhibition reflect some aspects of Irish history through four generations of her family.

Jason Lowe is going into his final year studying photography at IADT Dun Laoghaire. He is especially interested in people and land and the connections of these two subjects, which he explores through his use of photography. Today, people’s histories differ, resulting in diverse lives, with a multitude of stories to tell.

About the photographer

Anne Schwalbe (Berlin, 1974) graduated from the Ostkreuz School of Photography in Berlin in 2009. Schwalbe has participated in exhibitions such as Self Publish, Be Happy in the Photographers Gallery, London (2010), Ulsan International Photography Festival South Korea (2009), New Visionaires 2008, the New York Photo Festival (2009) and the Epson Art Photo Award, Best Selected Works, Art Cologne (2008).
Her book Blindschleiche und Riesenblatt was self-published in 2010.

About the photographers

Padło Tomasz
Born in 1978. PhD student at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Management at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He works on space perception and regional geography. He adores travelling, which reflects his passion for geography. He travelled alone to Myanmar, Iranian Kurdistan, has organised trips to Mongolia, the Lebanon and to Ladakhu in the Himalayas. Moreover, or rather above all, he is a socio-documentary oriented photographer.

Krężel Bogdan
The enfant terrible of Polish portrait photography. He graduated from the Photography School at the Łódź Film School. He is a full-time photographer for the oldest Polish weekly illustrated magazine, “Przekrój”. One of the best portrait photographers in Poland. He takes photographs of the most important Polish art and political figures. He is the author of a multitude of covers and illustrations for books printed by Znak Publishers – a publishing house in Kraków, W.A.B Publishers in Warsaw and Prószyński i Ska Publishing Company in Warszawa. The author of individual and collective exhibitions; winner of many prizes.

Krzakiewicz Przemysław
“El Emo” – a photographer, holder of a few biographies. One of them begins with the words “From the beginning, my life was bonded with the socialist planned economy. What distinguished myself from most of my kindergarten friends was the fact that I was a planned child …”. Apparently, there were some people who believed that for instance he worked in the state-owned Bicycle Factory where he was manufacturing shooting wares for partner Arabic countries. A likely version of his biography assumes that Przemysław Krzakiewicz, born in 1975, is the same photographer who, as a sixteen-year-old, made his debut in a socio-cultural weekly “Tygodnik Powszechny”, for years worked for the “Przekrój” weekly magazine and in 2005 founded in Kraków together with Łukasz Trzciński a photo agency Visavis.pl – a dynamic venture of documentary photographers from around Poland and all over the world. The originator of cultural exhibitions and initiatives (in co-operation with Imago Mundi Foundation). At present he works on photo projects: “Free time” and “What we have in common”. The former has been created during the author’s free time; it represents the pure essence of his joy of taking photographs, as spending spare time in taking photographs – showing how people spend their time is the author’s favourite way of spending free time. The latter has a completely different character; it shows portraits of people gathered in one place who joined forces under a common idea. His recent important publications are: “Małopolska. Photographs. Unclarified” and Graphis Photography Annual 2008.

Trzciński Łukasz
Born in 1975 in Kraków, graduated from the Łódź Film School, member of the Association of Polish Art Photographers. Co-founder of The Visavis.pl Photographers’ Collective – a venture gathering top Polish documentary photographers, and the Imago Mundi Foundation, which promotes photography and its authors. Co-organiser of The Photomonth in Kraków. Photographer and reporter, he has worked in over 40 countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Russia and the Middle East. Until recently he has been interested in Central and Eastern Europe. He is an award winner of the “Pictures of the Year International” prestigious documentary photography contest. Repeatedly awarded in the Press Photography Contest, his photographs have twice won the title of The Photo of the Year (1999 & 2000). Scholarship holder from The Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw, awarded by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in the young artists’ programme – Young Poland. Author and curator of many exhibitions in Poland and abroad.

Solik Bartek
Born in 1978 in Zakopane, where he still lives. Appreciated for his observations of everyday life, he received recognition for his documentary photographs published in the daily “Gazeta Wyborcza”, the weekly “Polityka”, “Newsweek” and “Przekrój”. He was nominated for the Grand Press Photo award three times: in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He won the first prize in BZ WBK Press Foto 2006 for his sports photographs. He also won an award in the National Geographic 2005 competition for his photo of lowlanders on the summit of Kasprowy Wierch, Poland. A year later he won the first prize in this competition for a photo from a sleigh race. He won the third place in Newsreportaż 2006 competition in the everyday life category for a cycle of photographs entitled “The Forgotten Olympic Athletes”. The representatives of the media from Krakow awarded him with the title of the Photo Reporter of 2006.

Kramarz Andrzej
Graduated from the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava (Czech Republic). Co-founder of the artistic group DRUT and founding member of the band called Na Przykład (For Example, 1985-19990). He has been a professional documentary photographer since the beginning of 1990s. Co-founder of Imago Mundi Foundation and co-organizer of Photomonth in Kraków. Among his most important individual series of photographs there are: “Things” (“Rzeczy”), “The Black Sea” (“Morze Czarne”), “The clinic” (“Klinika”), “The Infinity of Cognition” (“Nieskończoność poznania”). He won many awards at photography competitions (e.g. Polish Press Photo Competition in 1999 and 2001).

What is eventually shown during an exhibition depends solely on the participant’s own self-censorship. We do not pick the participants, everybody can show their work: star photographers, professionals, those just starting in photography, students, and amateurs. We do not select their work either – we have no demands as to subject, technique, format, or number of photographs shown. The photographs themselves can be shown in frames, or just prints stuck on the wall. Everybody finds a piece of wall, ceiling or floor for themselves and hangs their work. All sorts of unconventional forms of display are welcome.

The Homeless Gallery exists to enable everybody to show their work publicly, those who for various reasons would have no chance to show their work to the world. It is for those who cannot afford a prestigious gallery, and for those who would never even think of doing so. It is a chance to be noticed for photography students, and those just entering photography. For professionals it is a chance to show some of their more personal work that never finds its way into their commercial portfolios. For amateurs it is a chance to show their work to people other than their nearest family and friends. For those who are shy, it is a chance to pull out those photographs hidden away in drawers. This exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for professionals, amateurs, students and enthusiasts to congregate and collectively showcase their work without censorship. Participants are allowed to sell their works during the exhibition time.

All participants have to sign a disclaimer. There will be a 10EUR fee for all the participants to cover studios utility and cleaning expenses during and after the gallery time. All those interested in taking part in the Homeless Gallery please contact Karolina via e-mail at karolina[AT]d-lightstudios.com

Please make sure you register asap and pop to our studio to see the space and get ideas how you would like to exhibit your work!
Check the D-Light Studios web site for any updates.

Schedule:
Submissions end: 30th of June
Mounting images: 2nd of July from 9am – 9pm
You must supply your own tools. No restriction on quantity or content of works.
Homeless Gallery opening day: 3rd of July, 11am – 9pm
Reception:  3rd of July, 6pm
Homeless Gallery closing date: 6th of July, 5pm

About the Photographers

The whole idea of the Homeless Gallery is that there are no entry criteria. Homeless Gallery is open to all artists. What is eventually shown during an exhibition depends solely on the participants own self-censorship. We do not pick the participants everybody can show their work: star photographers, professionals, those just starting in photography, students and amateurs. We do not select their work either – we have no demands as to subject, technique, format or number of photographs shown. The photographs themselves can be shown in frames, or just prints stuck on the wall. Everybody finds a piece of wall, ceiling or floor for themselves and hangs their work. All sorts of unconventional forms of display are welcome.