People of Oxford Rd – Caroline Streatfield
An exhibition in the Holybrook Gallery
1-31 Mar during opening hours
‘People of Oxford Rd’ is a community engagement project that maps the shifting identities of the residents of Oxford Road and the surrounding area. The exhibition celebrates the rich diversity of the cultures in Reading, exploring identity through portraiture to show how the immigrant population has changed the Reading landscape.
Streatfield ran 12 workshops for children and adults, multi-ethnic communities including Reading Refugee Support Group, and inclusive of SEN and ESL. These workshops resulted in a group portrait by the children of Oxford Road Community School and individual self portraits by the adults.
Streatfield also painted 5 life-size portraits of shopkeepers who work along the Oxford Road. The shopkeepers were invited based on their historic links with the wider Reading community, and with whom Streatfield had built up a relationship.
'My practice is responsive to context and community and it is really important for me to create a sense of sharing stories and building social ties. The success of my work comes from conversations with people and their hidden backgrounds, I like to value the everyday stories of people around us that may be overlooked or underrepresented in society. I believe art can be experienced by everyone through workshops and exhibitions, championing diverse people in our communities to ensure that there is a legacy for this knowledge.'
Paintings from this exhibtion toured along the Oxford Road, stopping at Battle Library and the Biscuit Factory.
With thanks for their kind support to :
