I chose The Place I Call Home as the project title and its thematic content, and sought to articulate its meaning in the context of contemporary life in the UK and GCC. The Place I Call Home was identified as a universal concept with particular resonance in terms of cultural diversity, globalisation and the adherent processes of social, technological and economic change.

Home is represented by a combination of factors, affinity with one’s place of residence, by the proximity of family and friends, by personal and community identity, by how one lives and works, by shared values and experiences. Feeling ‘at home’ in a place is never a given, it is something that needs to be worked at. It requires us to adapt to new situations and surroundings, to contribute to society and to become involved in and engaged with the lives of those around us.

The Place I Call Home project used photography and lens-based media to explore the notion of home as it relates to contemporary experiences of the Arabic diaspora living in the UK and British people living in the Gulf. With the huge transformational changes happening in the Gulf region and UK – geopolitical, economic, social and cultural – the question of how we create places and spaces where we feel at home felt a highly pertinent one. Real estate opportunity, the immense new wealth from oil, gas and mineral extraction, financial speculation, globalisation and technology are powerful drivers for trade and business growth.  Equally, intercultural exchange, education, innovation and creativity offer momentum for positive societal change such as increased freedom and mobility, health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability. These factors make our cities and neighbourhoods more liveable, our communities more vibrant and harmonious, and our sense of belonging stronger.

 The exhibition had three themes:

·       Place-Making: how planning, design, cultural, environmental and technological considerations define a region, city or neighbourhood

·       Interculturalism: promoting dialogue and interaction between cultures to challenge isolation and self-segregation within cultures

·       Citizenship: social responsibility, hospitality, inclusion, respect and tolerance

In a region like the Gulf with so many ‘global’ and transient citizens the theme of ‘home’ speaks to both collective and individual experience. The speed of change in the Gulf has created new perspectives that are sometimes highly local and specific, at other times about sharing human experiences that transcend borders.

The Place I Call Home explored this process of change and its impact on people. It prompted questions and conversations on ‘home’ as a concept and not just a physical place. Central to this is revealing how photography is being used in the UK and the Gulf to capture and make sense of these societal shifts in order to build understanding around the strong and rich cultural history that informs the identity of the contemporary Arab World.

The exhibition content and accompanying public programme aimed to stimulate an intercultural dialogue focusing on shared history and culture, a debate which is future facing and globally oriented showing how the world is changing and the new opportunities that presents for young people in the Gulf and UK. The ubiquity of visual culture in contemporary society also underpinned the curatorial approach to this project. Forms of visual culture are now readily accessible through the exponential growth in digital and mobile phone technologies. This creates an opportunity to engage a generation highly active on Instagram and other photography-based social media platforms in a conversation about what it means to live in an increasingly digital and globally connected world.

In 2019 and 2020, three editions of The Place I Call Home toured to eleven venues in the Gulf region and UK including Kuwait, Qatar (Doha), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Madina), Oman (Muscat), Bahrain (Manama) and the United Arab Emirates (Sharjah), and London, Cardiff, Derby and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.