The work has developed from collaboration between a group of teenage Roma women, led by photographer Manuela Zanotti and Jacob Garber of The Children´s Society. Previous representations of Roma people show them as either romantic and free or living in desperate poverty. The large format and digital images taken by the group break from these stereotypes. The young women document a crucial moment in their lives as they undergo many complex transitions: from girlhood into womanhood, from Eastern European segregation to attempted British multiculturalism and from passive outsiders to active participants in society.

The Group
Sindy – Poland
Patrycja Neuman – Poland
Sylwia Majewska – Poland
Amanda Huczko – Poland
Roxana Lungu – Romania
Angelika Makulova – Slovakia
Nikola Makulova – Slovakia
Gabriela – Slovakia

Roma London is curated by Liz Helman, with assistance by Laura Nicholson and Denisa Ratulea.

Project managed by Jacob Garber. Design by Emilia Ohberg.

Special thanks to the families, Sue Mutter and the staff of The Children’s Society.