A MAJOR photographic exhibition opens in Oriel Q - Queen's Hall Gallery, Narberth, tomorrow (Saturday) and runs until February 28.

Titled 'Once We Were Birds,' artists Tina Carr and Annemarie Schöne have documented the lives of the travelling community in Hungary and also in many places in Britain. A book based on this, 'From The Horse's Mouth' will be launched at the opening of the exhibition at 2 pm.

The Roma are Europe's largest landless minority. They have no country, a barely recognised flag; they are among the poorest, most isolated and most disenfranchised people on the planet. Our homegrown gypsies and travellers share the same roots. They originated in India, were dispersed to the west by migration, slavery and war, suffered enforced settlement, assimilation, prejudice and murder in the Holocaust.

Today, they survive mostly on the margins. In Hungary, where the tarmac ends, the gypsy settlement begins. In the UK they live on overcrowded sites or by the roadsides desperately seeking non-existent pitches in an attempt to keep their culture alive whilst grappling with the challenges of a modern world in a digital age. They all belong to the same ethnic group - Romungro, Olah, Kalderash etc. Gypsies, Romany, travellers, Scottish gypsy travellers etc., yet they are significantly distinct with wildly differing ideas and aspirations.

It is precisely this lack of consensus which renders them powerless, for if they were to unite, the sparks (of freedom) would surely fly and we, the gorgias (settled people), would be forced to find a way of responding to them and their culture with more understanding, acceptance and humanity than we have been able to muster so far.

There are also some videos showing in Oriel Fach and Tina and Annemarie will give a presentation and talk about their projects on Saturday, February 28, which is the last day of the exhibition.

On the stairs are photographs by Lewys Canton who graduated from Carmarthen College last year and his final degree show was based on a documentary series focused on a gypsy travelling community within Pembrokeshire. 'Kingsmoor Common' is based on the concept or notion of sense of place and how this relates to a modern day community that settles in one place for a particular amount of time.

He said: "My interest comes from ideas about human experiences, in a way these images are constructed with the intent and purpose to comment on preconceived ideas of what a travelling community is like and undermines this nostalgic pre-conception we already associate towards a travelling community."

The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. Please telephone (01834) 869454 for access at other times.