Landmark Richard Ansett portrait series Next of Kin celebrates adoptive families during National Adoption Week

Coram has partnered with the acclaimed photographer Richard Ansett, who is adopted himself, to launch a new portrait series on 19 October to mark National Adoption Week and the centenary of the 1926 Adoption Act.
The series, Next of Kin: A Portrait of Adoptive Families by Richard Ansett, celebrates the lives of adoptive families across the country, and encourages more people to consider adoption as almost 3,000 children are waiting for the loving home they need*.
The series is launched at a reception at Coram’s historic London campus on 19 October at 5pm – 6:30pm and media are invited to join Richard Ansett and Coram CEO Dame Carol Homden to hear more about the project and the adoption landscape today.
The collection will also be presented in a digital gallery at adoptionstory.org.uk, with a selection appearing on billboards across London during National Adoption Week (19-25 October), generously supported by BUILDHOLLYWOOD, highlighting the need for more adoptive families to come forward.
Research, based on two YouGov surveys commissioned by Coram, makes clear that the public understands and supports adoption, finding that 90% of adults agree that adoption is a good option for children who need it, and that more than 650,000 adults in England could potentially adopt in the next three years, highlighting a significant opportunity to address the growing shortage of adoptive families.
Richard Ansett said: “As an adopted person, this project with Coram is deeply personal. Adoption has shaped my own life and identity. I discovered early that the camera could be a tool for connecting to other people. I hope that my life, success and survival is a testament, especially for young people, that the power of art can help us all make sense of our life experience.
“It’s an incredible privilege to step into the worlds of these families, spend time with them and capture a sense of the intimacy of their relationships. All adoption stories are fascinating and with this project I wanted to break down some of the myths around adoption and offer an insight into these amazing, complex families. As a child of adoption, I’m seeing myself in the faces of the young people negotiating with a shared sense of displacement and unconditional love that is unique to our experience.
“These images are a celebration of the amazing love and possibility that a child offers to the parent. I don’t want to give away all the answers in a photograph; I want people to explore the idea of adoption for themselves. We have thousands of children waiting in foster care. The power of the images – I hope – is in the celebration of adoption as something wonderfully ordinary and perhaps possible to imagine in the minds of future parents.” 
Dame Carol Homden, Chief Executive of Coram, said: “Behind every one of Richard’s extraordinary portraits is a story of belonging, connection and resilience, celebrating the many different forms that family can take to ensure children grow up safe and loved.
“Even though our research shows that the public understands and supports adoption and that hundreds of thousands of people tell us they are prepared to consider it, nearly 3,000 children are currently waiting. Richard’s compelling images show the difference that taking that step that could make in the course of a child’s life.”
The portraits can be viewed on in the digital gallery at adoptionstory.org.uk.
To access Coram’s research on Adoption Propensity in England visit coram.org.uk.
Throughout National Adoption Week, Coram will be sharing more adoption stories to mark the centenary of legal adoption. Find out more at adoptionstory.org.uk.