After Coal author and director Tom Hansell recently traveled to Romania to participate in the Appalachians / Carpathians: Mountains Apart, People Connected conference. Participants explored the theme of post-industrial development in mountain communities. Here is his report: Photographer Gabriel Amza , who has documented the decline of coal in Romania’s Jiu Valley and I collaborated on a presentation that explored the role of arts in former coal mining communities. After our presentation, we visited the Petrilla mine, which employed approximately 20,000 workers at its peak, before closing in 2015. Some miners were transferred to other mines, but many lost their jobs. Local officials believed the best path forward was to bulldoze the mine site and leave a clean, green field. However a strong local movement emerged to save the mine site. Former mine engineer and artist Ion Barbu (pictured below) helped lead an art based campaign to preserve the mine. […]

After Coal author and director Tom Hansell will present to the Appalachians / Carpathians: Mountains Apart, People Connected conference at Transylvania University in Brasov, Romania October 7, 2019. During the conference, delegates will travel to Romania’s Jiu Valley, the site of the nation’s last coal mine, which shut down in 2018. Hansell will present his work on the After Coal project alongside Romanian photographer Gabriel Amza, who has documented the decline of coal mining in the Jiu Valley for more than a decade. You can learn more about Amza’s work in this interview with Lomography Magazine Check the After Coal social media feeds for photos and updates from the conference.