Mixedracefaces is an organisation that captures portraits and stories of ethnically diverse individuals of mixed-race heritage. Using Instagram as one of their main platforms they invite people to share personal stories about their lives and heritage, these stories are accompanied by a portrait shot by the mixedracefaces team. On August 13th and 14th their exhibition ‘Chapter 1’ comes to Copeland Gallery.

What is mixedracefaces?

Our goal is to raise awareness of the vastly growing population of mixed-race people around the world. We show how their mixed background and cultures influence the unique way they navigate their every-day lives.

Where did the idea come from?

The inspiration for Mixedracefaces is in honour of Rienkje Zoet, late mother to Tenee Attoh. Rienkje was a Dutch woman who married Tenee’s father Fred Attoh, a Ghanaian photographer, in the 1950’s and lived in Ghana for 25 years. She was a strong woman who broke down barriers to enter a different culture and began a legacy in a time when inter-racialism wasn’t widely accepted.

Who is behind the project?

Mixedracefaces is a family run organisation; Solon Attoh [Creative Manager], Rachael Attoh [Content Manager], Tenee Attoh [Founder & Photographer]. Our career backgrounds include project management and photography.

Have you ever done a mixedracefaces story about yourself?

Rachael’s story has been featured in the first chapter and will be displayed at the exhibition. Our main focus for now is on the community and the people.

Why do you think people are so interested in these glimpses into people’s lives?

People naturally want to feel part of a community. When reading into other’s people’s lives on Mixedracefaces, you can easily relate to what they have said/experienced regardless of race/gender/sexuality/religion/age. There is also an element of having a key interest and curiosity about others. We now live in a new world of social media, where there is a keen appetite to connect with people faster and in a different way. We also are an advocate for people’s wellbeing. It is healthy to share and help others so we pride ourselves as a platform for people to feel like they actually belong in society.

The stories shared are incredibly personal and often emotional, why do you think people feel so free to open up this way?

There are several reasons why we think people feel so free to open up;

  • We’ve created an open, honest and comfortable environment – there is no judgement on race/gender/sexuality/religion/age.
  • We believe in bonding with the people and being part of the community, there is so much power in that.
  • We, the curators are all mixed and can 100% relate to our platform’s purpose in a personal way and can understand the experiences being shared.

What can people expect from the exhibition at Copeland Park?

Mixedracefaces will showcase the first chapter of our journey. There will also be poetry readings from Natalie Armitage & Luke Alexander-Grose. Mainly we want this event to be a place for people to connect, similarly to how they do on our online platforms, but in person. It will also be a celebration of the community of Peckham, where the platform was birthed.

We are really looking forward to showcasing our first exhibition at Copeland Park and welcome everyone!

Mixedracefaces is a free entry exhibition open Tuesday 13th & Wednesday 14th August, 3-9pm, in Copeland Gallery.

Follow mixedracefaces on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Website

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