Nice To Meet You – Som Rado Hoij Tumen Spindzardom was on show from 16th March and extended until 8th May 2022 at Turner Contemporary in Margate.

For this collaborative community art making project, I worked with five Slovak and Czech Roma women, Anna, Martina, Jarmila, Beata and Ivana. The project ran as part of a healthy lifestyles after-school club at Dover Big Local in Kent . Over a series of workshops we painted together to explore creative self-expression. The creative outcomes were exhibited at Turner Contemporary.

Roma communities in many countries, including the UK, are marginalised. In Slovakia, where Roma are the second largest minority group, they face unequal access to employment, education, health and social services compared to non-Roma Slovaks. 

Nice To Meet You aimed to benefit wellbeing and reduce social isolation, and champion the message that art can bring communities together.

Nice To Meet You – Som Rado Hoij Tumen Spindzardom

Turner Contemporary, Margate, Kent

16 March – 8th May 2022

A selection of artworks on display at Turner Contemporary

Nice To Meet You, works on paper by Joy C Martindale

About the artwork

For this piece, which came directly out of the experience of painting at the table alongside the participants of the project, I painted in seven colours and used seven squares in each row to represent that we were seven women working together: myself, Anna, Beata, sisters Jarmila and Martina, Ivana and Iveta Janova who is the Inclusion Development Officer for Samphire and runs the healthy lifestyles club.

Project Support

This project has been carried out in partnership with Samphire and Turner Contemporary and made possible by National Lottery supported Arts Council England grant funding and a grant from Counterpoints Arts.