DESCRIPTION
This series of photographs documents the lives, culture and traditions of the Irish Travelers, a forgotten people. The images reflect my personal interactions with the Travelers I have met and followed through the years at various halting sites, and illegal encampments in and around County Galway and County Limerick, outside of Dublin and at the annual horse fair in Ballinasloe.
The Irish Travelers are an insular ethnic group that has lived on the fringes of mainstream Irish society for centuries. They live an itinerant lifestyle, with long traditions and gender-based roles that have been passed down from generation to generation. Discrimination is widespread, school dropout rates are high, domestic violence is rampant, and suicides are increasing. For better or for worse they are slowly changing and soon their old way of life will be lost to modern society. My goal in making these photographs is to document them and their way of life as it is now, and to display their unique heritage and unconventional yet historic way of living to a wider audience, in and outside of Ireland. They are mainly invisible to the Irish citizens, and they are desperate to have their stories of hardship heard.
AUTHOR
Virginia native Rebecca Moseman received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1997 and her Master of Fine Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2001. She has worked in academia, private industry, and Government as an instructor, consultant, and graphic designer and does freelance work in photography and publishing. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and abroad and has been selected on the cover of Black+White Magazine, and featured within Black & White Magazine, GUP, Resource, DodHo, and SHOTS Magazine.
2020 Lucie Foundation, The Portrait Project, B&W Category finalist, The Car Boys
2020 Monochrome Awards, Honorable Mention, Philomena, The Car Boys
2020 International Photo Awards, Best of Show 2020 Exhibition, Curator Anne Morin
2020 The Photo Annual, First Place Winner, Personal Work
2020 International Photo Awards, Second Place, Other/People category
2020 TOP 50, Critical Mass, Photolucida, A Forgotten People, The Irish Travelers
2020 PX3, Paris Photography Prize, First Place and Best New Talent, The Irish Travelers
2020 The Gala Awards, 15th Pollox Awards, Series Winner, Portrait Category,
The Irish Travelers
2020 The Gala Awards, 15th Pollox Awards, Honorable Mention, Portrait Category,
The Irish Travelers
2020 American Photography Open, Shortlist, Three Tough Boys
