Imagining Identity brought together young people from two different communities in London and Tehran to explore ideas around identity and self-image and how this affects the ways in which they engage with the world around them.
Participants came from two centres; the Omid-e-Mehr rehabilitation centre in Tehran, Iran and the Iranian Youth Development Association, an organisation based in Woolwich, London.
Through a series of workshops in London entitled Image and Identity, the project narrative unfolded through the eyes of the young people and the myriad of complex experiences and emotions of displacement they faced when examining their identity. The images that came about from the project foregrounded a sense of individuality through a constellation of heritage, ancestral origins, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds, interests, abilities and life choices.
An international photography exhibition was the culmination of the project, commencing at The Window Galleries, Canary Wharf, London on 1 May 2011 which was opened by Newham Councillor Bryan Collier on 4 May. The work then toured to The Silk Road Gallery, Tehran, Iran, exhibiting 16-21 September. The exhibition then returned to London and was installed at The Stephen Lawrence Gallery in Greenwich, London 24 October to November 2011.
The project was created by Rosetta Arts and delivered in partnership with the Iranian Youth Development Association and Omid-e-Mehr Foundation.
Omid Foundation is a group of three charities based in Iran, the UK and the US that focuses on strengthening the social, emotional and economic competencies of disadvantaged young women in Iran through a distinctive holistic approach.
Iranian Youth Development Association is a not-for-profit and Non-Governmental Organisation based in Woolwich, South East London. The organisation was established in 1989 to provide support for the Iranian and and extended Farsi speaking community.
