The group of Polish young people dedicated their free time and worked really hard since mid October in order to produce a beautifully illustrated, bilingual, professionally-printed picture book for children using an unusual technique called pinhole photography. They planned public events scenarios and designed various tools such as a super-sized version of the book, games and music activities with musical instruments and a specially-prepared nursery rhyme song in order to make events as engaging as possible for kids.  During the workshops in December the group was working with Jewish young people on illustrations inspired by the Chanukah celebration. The exhibition is a retrospective of a joint work of Polish and Jewish young people working together to make an impact within London Communities. It summarizes and celebrates their hard work and what they have achieved during the last a few months. It is held at the Menier Gallery in London on 10-15^th January 2011. Adres of the gallery is: Menier Gallery, 51 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU, exhibition open: Mon - Wed, 11am-6pm, Thur - Fri, 11am-8pm.

The "Locomotive" project is financially supported by The Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Polish Cultural Institute and Mediabox.

Pinhole photography is lens-less photography where a tiny hole replaces the lens. Light passes through the hole and an image is formed in the camera.

Click Academy (Akademia Pstryk) was founded by photographer and artist Marta Kotlarska. It is an art group using pinhole photography as a means of social change through empowering communities. Since 2004 we have been working with young people from ethnic minority groups, to address the issues they face.  (http://www.clickacademy.co.uk/)

Under our supervision, children living in the poorest borough of Warsaw (Poland) were preparing illustrations of a famous Warsaw legend, the exhibition of which was shown in major Warsaw public spaces including Tube stations, the Central Train station and billboard stands around the city. We also prepared a series of public events and pinhole-made animations about Warsaw with them, which were used in an e-guide about the capital of Poland. Young people were encouraged to participate in project planning and in all stages of delivering the project. As a result they felt responsible for the project and learnt that if they work hard they are able to achieve something spectacular. They gave a lot of interviews in press, radio and TV both locally and nationally.

Since 2006 we have been working with traditional Roma settlements in Southern Poland (Małopolska region). Our Nowy Sacz settlement project exhibition was part of EYID UK (European Year of Intercultural Dialog) and was awarded as the best art activity of Gypsy, Roma and Travellers History Month in 2008.

In 2008 (Click Academy) Akademia Pstryk along with the Children's Society, delivered the Roma Picture Book project. We worked with Roma children aged 7 to 14 years, hailing from Poland and Slovakia although momentarily living in the borough of Newham in London. We produced a children's picture book, ‘Romano Bumburumbum', which expresses Roma culture. It was distributed for free via a series of public exhibitions and street art workshops where the public was invited to engage with the Roma culture and traditions. The project was a great success and received rave professional reviews. It is presented by Everybody Writes as one of the most inspiring projects in the country. The books are now on the shelves in Newham libraries and available for loans. 

Under our supervision, children living in the poorest borough of Warsaw (Poland) were preparing illustrations of a famous Warsaw legend, the exhibition of which was shown in major Warsaw public spaces including Tube stations, the Central Train station and billboard stands around the city. We also prepared a series of public events and pinhole-made animations about Warsaw with them, which were used in an e-guide about the capital of Poland. Young people were encouraged to participate in project planning and in all stages of delivering the project. As a result they felt responsible for the project and learnt that if they work hard they are able to achieve something spectacular. They gave a lot of interviews in press, radio and TV both locally and nationally.

Since 2006 we have been working with traditional Roma settlements in Southern Poland (Małopolska region). Our Nowy Sacz settlement project exhibition was part of EYID UK (European Year of Intercultural Dialog) and was awarded as the best art activity of Gypsy, Roma and Travellers History Month in 2008.

In 2008 (Click Academy) Akademia Pstryk along with the Children's Society, delivered the Roma Picture Book project. We worked with Roma children aged 7 to 14 years, hailing from Poland and Slovakia although momentarily living in the borough of Newham in London. We produced a children's picture book, ‘Romano Bumburumbum', which expresses Roma culture. It was distributed for free via a series of public exhibitions and street art workshops where the public was invited to engage with the Roma culture and traditions. The project was a great success and received rave professional reviews. It is presented by Everybody Writes as one of the most inspiring projects in the country. The books are now on the shelves in Newham libraries and available for loans. 

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