A Place at the Table
From 17 March to 4 April, SCRUM Studios will be hosting the free photography exhibition, A Place at the Table.
Consisting of 19 portraits, the project spotlights the lived experiences of women affected by Domestic Servitude.
These powerful portraits were made in collaboration between photographer Camila Almeida and participants from The Voice of Domestic Workers (VODW), a grassroots organisation run by and for Migrant Workers.
The project forms part of Hammersmith & Fulham Council's programme in celebration of Women's History Month, which includes an evening with the artists and activists on 25 March at SCRUM Studios. Further details below.
Speaking to Hammersmith & Fulham Council, Mimi Jalmasco, a member of VODW, shared her own experience of participating in A Place at the Table:
“Our struggles are rarely heard. The photography project has been a powerful way for us to share our stories.
It was empowering, made us feel seen, and reminded us that we are not alone. For society, these images are eye-opening.
They help people see us not just as workers, but as human beings with dreams and challenges. It has started important conversations and encouraged more support for our rights and dignity."
Read more about A Place at the Table and the women who made it on H&F’s website, here.
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Domestic Servitude is a form of Modern Slavery and Exploitation (MSE). It keeps people in forced labour in private homes, where they may be abused and offered little or no pay.
As it disproportionately affects women, it is also considered a form of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Globally, Migrant Domestic Workers are recognised as particularly vulnerable to Domestic Servitude, because their work keeps them isolated ‘behind closed doors’, away from regulatory oversight, support and legal advice. Their legal right to be in a country is often tied to their visa, which is sponsored by their employer.
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Every year, around 20,000 people are brought to the UK by their employers on an Overseas Domestic Worker (ODW) visa.
Before 2012, ODW visa holders could exercise the right to:
apply to change employers and renew their visa with this different employer
apply for spouses, partners or minor children to join them
put down permanent roots and settle in the UK after 5 years of continuous work
As a Government inquiry found in 2009, for Migrant Domestic Workers these rights doubled as vital preventative safeguards against exploitation. At this time, there were already alarming numbers of reports of such abuses.
Since 2012, changes in legislation block Migrant Domestic Workers from accessing these rights.
(Source: Kayalaan, 12 Years of Modern Slavery, 2024)
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The Voice of Domestic Workers is a grassroots organisation in the UK, run by people with lived experience as Migrant Domestic Workers.
Established March 15 2009, VODW campaigns for justice and rights for the 16,000 Migrant Domestic Workers living in the UK today.
Central to their mission is delivering educational and community activities to Domestic Workers, as well as the leadership programme VODW Future Voices.
For those who escape abusive employment, VODW provides essential community and support, such as by connecting them with legal advice, finding emergency accommodation, and pooling resources for food and clothes.
Process
As a volunteer with VODW, Almeida spent over a year hearing the stories and gaining the trust of the brave people she would later photograph in A Place at the Table.
Here, drawing from Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, Almeida constructs a framework to empower the participants as the project’s co-creators.
Each portrait is staged at a dining table, a space that holds particular symbolic significance for the participants. Banished from the dining table by the families they work for, for many Domestic Workers it is a site of labour and exclusion.
But now, the participants are invited back to the table to reclaim their space. And as artistic collaborators, they bring belongings that are meaningful to them, such as family photos, passports, religious items, and SIM cards. Through these items and their placement, the participants are the ones who determine how they stories are told.
Your Visit
A Place at the Table will run from 17 March - 4 April.
The exhibit will be on display in our Mezzanine area and is open to the public from Mondays to Fridays, 9:30am-6:00pm.
Please note: the exhibition is located on the first floor of the building and there is a set of stairs. If you have any accessibility requirements, please do get in touch with studios@scrumtheatre.co.uk.
Celebrate With Us
On 25 March, Hammersmith & Fulham Council are hosting a special evening to celebrate the exhibition.
The evening will include and talks and a Q&A session with the artist Camila Almeida and Director of The Voice of Domestic Workers, Marissa Begonia. Refreshments will be provided.
We would love for you to join us.
This event will run from 5:30pm-8:00pm. To reserve your free ticket, click the button below.
Please note: the event will be moved to the warehouse space for this evening, on the ground floor. Our wheelchair accessible entrance and toilets will be signposted.