Jessica Lara Rizzi

Whilst traveling throgh Spain in March of this year, I met a community of people who were living in cave dwellings in the hills of Sacromonte Granada. Historically the caves have been used as a place of refuge since medieval times to house minorities exiled from mainstream society. On the 20th March, six of these dwellings were destroyed by local police acting on the orders of Granada's local government.


Above: Residents were given 10 minutes notice to evacuate themselves and their possessions before bulldozers moved in

When residents and supporters rallied against the demolition, police charged and fired upon them with rubber bullets and pepper spray.








In the media reports that followed, there was no mention of the rubber bullets or pepper spray used on the crowd

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/spanish-news/i...
http://spanishnewstoday.com/tempers-flare-as-grana...

What emerged in the days that followed was a community of friends and strangers alike united in their solidarity, preserving a way of life that is shunned by some, though necessary to others.






I was lucky enough to be there for those few days, documenting the event and its aftermath with my Nikon 35mm camera. Upon developing my photos in Dublin, Ireland, i then entered them into the PhotoIreland International Portfolio Review in which I've been shortlisted.

http://photoireland.org/festival/year-2014/portfol...

This is an incredible opportunity for me to not only showcase my images to 6 internationally renowned professionals in the field, but to meet other like minded photographers who share my passion for social documentary and reportage photography. It is also an opportunity to tell the story of what really happened that day.

With your support on this project, I will be able to return to Dublin in July for the PhotoIreland Festival and showcase my photo essay in a professional portfolio to a panel of reviewers in the hope of then exhibiting them back home in Melbourne or around the world.

The goal I am aiming for is $1500 which covers the following costs:
*Admission into the PhotoIreland Festival ($200)
*Flights to Dublin ($200)
*Scanning, large scale printing and mounting of 15 images ($1000-1100)

Unfortunately (or fortunately) traveling through Europe on a shoestring budget with no additional income coming in, means that I may not have the financial means of getting together a professional looking portfolio and thus making the most of my opportunity.