On the 1st of May we hosted the opening of the photo exhibition

'Mândrie şi Beton | Pride and Concrete' - The success story of those gone to work abroad

A project by Ioana and Petrut Calinescu

We had Ioana and Petrut Calinescu as our guests in conversation with Dr. Ger Duijzings (Reader in the Anthropology of Eastern Europe at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies - SSEES)

Mandrie si Beton | Pride and Concrete documents the socio-economic changes occurring in traditional villages, especially the ones in ?ara Oasului and Maramures, following the wave of migration abroad, in search of work. In their project, photographerPetrut Calinescu and researcher Ioana Calinescu have captured the tension between the first generation of immigrants, who dreams of returninghomeand the younger one who dreams of breakingthe curse of the concrete which forces them, according to tradition, to invest their hard-earned money in multi-floored houses in their native villages.

ABOUT

Petrut Calinescu is a freelance photographer, based in Bucharest, Romania, with a BA in Journalism and Communication Sciences.

Ioana Calinescu has been in turn and sometimes at the same time, ethnologist, copywriter, journalist, editor, TV reporter, managing editor and communication manager. She graduated from the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Letters, Ethnology and Folklore Department.

Dr. Ger Duijzings is Reader in the Anthropology of Eastern Europe at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL), and Co-Director of the UCL Urban Laboratory.

Thank you also to our sponsors: Deli Twist and Lebara

Photo credits: James Rice