STORY: What is your migrant community story?
Describe in:

3 Words: A migrant story.

A Sentence: A migrant story which foregrounds the various cultural identities that exist within the different parts of St. Helier.

A Paragraph: The migrant community story I wish to present is one of cultural diversity. With this my aim is to display the different quarters located in town, which traditionally were exclusive to various migrant communities. These include the French and Portuguese quarter, the merchant quarter and the British expat and wealthy quarter. These quarters of town originated from migrants arriving in Jersey for work and new opportunities for their families, providing Jersey with goods and labour in return. This in turn resulted in these micro communities within the parish of St. Helier, which encapsulate the food, religions and trades belonging to these migrants.

NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?

I will tell this migrant community story through a series of portraits of the people who belong and shape these varied communities in St. Helier, juxtaposed with the architectural landscapes they live, pray and work in, displaying their impact on how the island’s capital looks. I will collect these images from a series of photoshoots, which will take place in and around the migrant quarters in town. With this hopefully an audience will be able to have a visual representation of the mass amount of cultural diversity this island possesses. These photoshoots will be taken in instalments of revisits to these areas, allowing for an opportunity to show change and a growing sense of familiarity and knowledge of the people and communities.

AUDIENCE: Who is it for?

This zine will allow for a look inside the lives of people in Jersey, meaning this could be well received by someone foreign to the Island wanting to gain an insight to the Island’s cultural diversity. This is as it demonstrates how communities that were brought to the island hundreds of years ago in order to boost the economy, amongst other things, have evolved and helped shape the future of the island. In addition, this zine may be beneficial to people interested in migrating to Jersey who are 20-40, due to the fact that it presents a welcoming attitude to new communities that help grow a more multicultural and accepting place. Furthermore, they will see a representation of their ages group in these images, giving them a better chance to relate and connect with these images, also whilst seeing what life could be like for them here. On the other hand, it can also be said that this zine may be best received by Jersey islanders that are not from St. Helier, within the age group of 14-18 year olds. This is due to the fact that it gives younger natives that live in more rural areas a chance to recognise how large our migrant community is here, as they may not have been explicitly educated on Jersey’s relationship with migration in the past. This was the case for me whilst producing images for this zine, as I was not as familiar as I should have been with the varied cultures and the history of their impact on the island, however this in turn gave me a new perspective of the Island I have lived on my whole life.