EXPATS PORTRAITS : A NEW EXHIBITION OPENS
A new photographic exhibition, called EXPATS PORTRAITS, showcasing the work of Tony Slaughter who moved to the region six years ago, opens at Le Clap art gallery in Paraza on 5 August 2011.
EXPATS PORTRAITS features 16 people, of varying nationalities, different ages and diverse backgrounds, all of whom have chosen the Languedoc as their new home. Apart from taking their photographs, Tony Slaughter interviewed each subject about their reasons for moving to the region.
Today, the Languedoc-Roussillon has become home to many thousands of men, women and children from every country in Europe – and beyond. Latest available figures show that the population of the Languedoc-Roussillon was 2.58 million at 1 January 2008. In the decade since 1999, the annual population growth of the region averaged 1.3 per cent – twice the average growth for the whole of France.
This virtual population “explosion” is due in no small measure to inward immigration from the rest of France but also from abroad. Stats show that four European countries account for almost three quarters of overseas property owners in the Languedoc. Germany comes top, closely followed by the UK, then Belgium and Switzerland.
But no matter what country they arrived from, each new resident from outside France – an “expat” – has a story to tell. Why? How? When?
Photo-journalist Tony Slaughter said: “I hope to be able to find a patron or sponsor who can help me publish a book with the photographs in this exhibition together with the interviews in full.
“I believe it would make a fascinating social document. And prove the point that every picture does tell a story.”
A number of other artists will also be showing their work at the exhibition at Le Clap art gallery which has the overall title VISAGES MOSAÏQUE. The exhibition opens at 18.30 on Friday 5 August, 2011, and runs until 4 September. The gallery is open between 15.00 and 19.00 Wednesday to Sunday and can be found beside the Canal du Midi, quite close to the Café du Port.
Contact: Tony Slaughter
04 68 49 11 69
06 72 08 44 06
