http://www.awpf.online/photo-library

Update: The Through our Eyes Exhibition will be on tour from 19th November 2024 until 13th January 2025 at Pontio, Bangor University.

https://allwalespeople1st.co.uk/events-and-training/through-our-eyes-on-tour/

You can check the Pontio website for opening hours: https://tickets.pontio.co.uk/Online/default.asp

The All Wales People First ‘Through Our Eyes’ project started in 2020 and finished in December 2022. The event exhibition was in the Senedd  from November 2022 until February 2023.

We are hoping to find more funding to tour the exhibition around Wales.

Through our Eyes is a member led photography project. Our members decided what stories are important to share. We are grateful to everyone who
supported our work. Many people gave their time to take part in our photoshoots and filming. The work was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, People and Places Programme.

The Through Our Eyes photographers:

          Natasha Hirst, Project Manager & Photographer

          Lucy Hinksman, Project Worker & Photographer

Not so long ago, many of us would have been institutionalised for most of our lives. It is now a breach of our human rights to shut us away just because we have learning disabilities.
We fought hard for our human rights. We are self-advocates. Self-advocacy means speaking up for yourself. It helps a person to have a say in the important decisions which affect their life.
Self-advocacy gives us choice and control. It allows us to be independent. Self-advocacy allows us to be part of our communities. We are proud to celebrate our valued roles and the contributions we make in our communities. We are volunteers, employees, family members, partners, spouses, parents, team members, community champions, sportspeople, students, educators and so much more.

Positive representation is important. Our exhibition challenges perceptions and stereotypes by highlighting the valued roles and activities of people with learning disabilities in our
communities. ‘Through Our Eyes’ also created a free image library so our stories and photos can be shared more widely. The images you see are a snapshot of a moment in our lives. It doesn’t
show the full story of everything that we have been through to reach this point. There are still many unnecessary barriers that prevent us from making decisions. Deep inequalities exist in all areas of our lives. This includes access to healthcare, education and employment. These inequalities limit our opportunities, freedoms and even life expectancy. You can learn more about this in the All Wales People First manifesto. There is huge strength, dignity and solidarity in the learning disability community.

We will never stop fighting for our human rights. Remember, our human rights are your human rights too.

The Through Our Eyes Project image library launched in December 2022

The link is  here.

We showcased some of the images at the National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd in August 2024.

We asked visitors to put a dot on our map to suggest areas of Wales where they would like the exhibition to tour.

You can see our Eisteddfod montage on our TikTok channel, here

https://www.tiktok.com/@allwalespeoplefirst/video/7405181443917303072?is_from_webapp=1

If you’ve seen the exhibition, we’d love to know what you think about it https://forms.office.com/r/KvYwgqg0U3

Through our Eyes exhibition film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oCwo-LVF2I