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City College photography tutor captures migrant experience

18 November 2008

Julia Horbaschk, a photography tutor at City College Brighton and Hove, has compiled a series of striking photographs that capture the experience of European migrant workers in Brighton. The photos in her new book, Labour of Love, were taken during a six month period from September 2007 to February 2008. To accompany the release of the book, Julia's photos will be exhibited at City College's First Floor Balcony from 20th November until 4th December. Through working on her book, Julia feels that she gained some acute insights into the lives of the migrant workers:

'I noticed many negative stories in the news, especially The Daily Mail, so I wanted to provide a more balanced view on the new migrants. I just try to get away from stereotypes and I noticed there is a bit of prejudice against migrant workers, so I made it my task to find out more about them and portray them as part of our community.'

Labour of Love by Julia Horbaschk

Labour of Love by Julia Horbaschk

'Some feel very happy in their work and want to continue to stay in the UK but many of them feel they are underpaid or they have too few breaks. I think Brighton is quite a competitive place and some of the migrant workers worry that if they say anything negative about their job they might lose it so they just get on with it. I also noticed that they had a more proactive role at work such as painting their own staff room and making it friendlier or learning new languages such as Arabic. Overall they work hard and long hours, often over the weekend when local workers just want their time off.'

Julia now hopes that the knowledge that she gained when working on the book can be passed onto her students at City College:

'I learnt how to approach people through the right channels and how to communicate with them. It was also a pleasure to work with a medium format film camera, something my students may want to find out about. Most of all I have learnt that things are always different than what they seem. We go into a project with a perception of what it's going to be like and we find some surprises along the way. I would like to help the students at City College find their path through their own projects just as I did."

Labour of Love is available for £14 at the Jubilee Library's Booklover store and City Books on Western Road. Julia will also be at the exhibition at City College on Thursday, 20th November from 3pm-5pm to sell the book at discounted rate of £11.

For media enquiries, please call Brian Bell, Marketing Communications Officer, on 01273 667788 Ext. 488 or email bb1@ccb.ac.uk

About City College Brighton and Hove: Founded over 100 years ago, City College Brighton and Hove has become an international centre of excellence. Every year, around 9,000 students, including many international and European students, choose City College as their education provider. Over 500 14 to16 year olds from local schools also attend the College. City College provides training to over 2,000 businesses and has a 'City Business Skills' department which focuses on employers' needs. Offering hundreds of courses from basic level to pre-University level, City College is working with its partners to develop the workforce of the future.