Maria Anastassiou: Way My It Did I

Inspired by the work of the University of Essex’s Centre for Migration Studies

Maria Anastassiou presents her New Geographies commission ‘Way My It Did I’, a filmic response to the historic point of entry for immigrants coming into the UK – Tilbury in Essex.

Set against the transient landscape of the Thames Estuary and laden with traces of the ever shifting global narratives of commerce and migrations, Anastassiou spent the last year connecting with Tilbury based refugee and migrant groups, including Romanian workers, Nigerian women asylum seekers and Filipino seafarers.

Inspired by the work of the University of Essex’s Centre for Migration Studies, Anastassiou’s process-led approach questions official narratives and mediates on the everyday of living and working in Tilbury.

Maria Anastassiou (b. Cyprus 1982) is a filmmaker working with analogue film based in Essex, who screens her work nationally and internationally. 

New Geographies, is a three-year project which highlights overlooked or unexpected places across East Anglia, redrawing the map of the region with places important to those living here. It is funded by the Arts Council of England, the Big Lottery and is supported by CVAN and the University of Essex.