‘You, me and those who came before’: V&A

Image credit: Judith Kerr, photograph by Jillian Edelstein

Grand Entrance, V&A, London

The series of portraits, ‘You, me and those who came before’, commissioned by Counterpoints Arts, celebrates first and second generation refugees, including the late children’s author Judith Kerr in one of her last photographs, politician Magid Magid and actor Zoe Wanamaker.

A reminder that people escaping war and persecution have been welcomed by communities in the UK for hundreds of years, and that their stories and contributions are all around us.

As part of  Refugee Week Festival 2019, Counterpoint Arts commissioned the celebrated photographer, Jillian Edelstein to respond to this year’s theme of the festival – ‘You, me and those who came before’.

The result is a stunning series of portraits featuring first and second generation ‘refugees’, many of whom are public figures who we would not commonly associate with displacement.

Featuring Jillain’s images and design by Counterpoint’s long-standing collaborators, BCMH, this project invites us to revisit our understanding of our history and reminds us that people escaping war and persecution have been welcomed by communities in the UK for hundreds of years, and that their stories and contributions are all around us. From the Jewish refugees of the 1930s to people fleeing Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo and Palestine in the 90’s to people arriving today from Syria and elsewhere; they are part of who we all are.

‘You, me and those who came before’ portrait project will be presented on screen at Tate Exchange (5th floor – 21st to 25th May), V&A (Main Entrance – 17th to 23rd June) and Southbank Centre (projected on the side of the building – 17th to 23rd June). The portraits will also be distributed as printed materials to Refugee Week organisers across the country.