Exhibition – alive and kicking!

So, the Mixed Race Families exhibition is now up and I am so thrilled to say that it has attracted a lot of attention – and positive attention at that!

From the moment that I put up the exhibition, people in the library were coming to ask me about what I was exhibiting and commenting on all of the beautiful photographs. One of the library workers came up to shake me by the hand to congratulate me on such a good job.

Since then, I have been in to the library on a number of occasions and the library staff have told me that they have had a lot of interest in the exhibition as many people visiting the library are taking the time to take it in. So much so that I decided to put in a comments box so that people could leave their thoughts about the exhibition.

Last week, I got a really special invitation. I was invited to the National Council of Women Birmingham branch’s annual lunch. I was asked by the President to speak about the exhibition alongside the Lady Mayoress of Birmingham. Well, she didn’t need to ask me twice!! I had a wonderful day, including an amazing three course meal! I am not normally keen on public speaking, its something that doesn’t come naturally to me. Especially following the Lady Mayoress, who spoke so well and so easily, I did wonder if the President would regret asking me! But as soon as I stood up and addressed the ladies in the room, I just started talking from the heart about what I had done and all my nerves evaporated and my passion took over.

After speaking to the room, a number of ladies came to me to tell me that they had mixed race children or grandchildren and that they were really excited about the exhibition.
As well as speaking at the lunch, I have been interviewed on two local radio stations and featured in a local paper. It has been really encouraging to have such positive feedback. The radio presenter actually said that the one comment he would make would be that I should include a wider area and do it again to include the whole of Birmingham. We will see…

The exhibition will continue to run until 5 April – so if you are around the Birmingham area, please do come down to have a look at the Celebrating Mixed Race Families exhibition Erdington library. For those of you unable to come along, I have included a couple of photos.

Say cheese….!

A few weeks back, I explained that I had decided to put on an exhibition to celebrate mixed race families in my community. Having organised the venue for the photography session and exhibition, I then started to promote it as much as I could. I approached a couple of local newspapers, had some posters designed and shared my news on social media, via as many local networks as I could think of.

I have to say that I was overwhelmed with the positive response that I received from friends, acquaintances and total strangers! I was contacted by the Birmingham Mail who had heard about what I was doing and asked if they could run an article; of course I said yes!  When I went to church the week after an article appeared in another local paper, I was stopped so many times by people who had seen the article and wanted to congratulate me and wish me luck. It was quite overwhelming to have so much positive encouragement; although I felt it was a topic that didn’t resonate with many people, most commented on the fact that I had sought to do something positive from a negative experience.  

On the day of the photography session, the photographer set up a backdrop in the room to give the photos a studio feel. We laid on drinks and biscuits and nervously waited to see if anyone would turn up. In the end, there was a steady flow of families throughout the afternoon and although I haven’t seen the finished articles, I could see that the photographer took some really amazing shots of the families that took part.

The aspect I most enjoyed about the day was listening to other families and their experiences. A lot of what the other families talked about were subjects that I could relate to. We talked about the reactions from family, from friends and from strangers. We talked about our own feelings and fears for our children. We discussed the difficulties we had faced in dealing with a range of subjects from hair to toys. What overwhelmingly came across from each and every single person that we spoke to was the absolute love and joy that these children bought into their lives – happily, for most of the families, the addition of children to a mixed race relationship had often helped create a deeper understanding and acceptance from their wider family members.

For me, it bought new understanding too as I listened to some of the issues faced by families with older children. It was also very interesting to hear the perspectives of mixed race adults and their feelings about their mixed race children.

The whole vibe to the afternoon was positive; each person that took part told me how pleased they were to take part in something that celebrated mixed race families and were really eager to hear about the exhibition itself. Finally it was time to pack up after an exhilarating but tiring afternoon; as I was leaving the venue, an elder black lady approached me to ask about the exhibition. She explained that she had mixed race children, now in their 40s, and after reading about what I was doing in her friend’s paper, had wanted to come down to talk to me and see what it was all about. A lovely end to a great afternoon.

Now I cannot wait to see all of the beautiful photographs, but before I can do that, it is time to get on with the daunting task of putting together the exhibition itself!