The People’s River Project - with residents from Angel Meadows, Miles Platting, Northwards Social Housing and staff from HMG Paints
The People’s River project was a community-led programme, collaborating with people who live and work along the River Irk in Manchester. It was inspired by Friedrich Engels writings of the River Irk in his seminal text ‘The Conditions of the Working Class in England’. Commissioned by Manchester Histories, the project aimed to reveal and creatively share the often hidden histories and stories of people’s own local heritage.
As part of the commission I had the pleasure of working with individuals from local businesses and community initiatives including HMG Paints (one of the oldest local businesses still running along the Irk), Friends of Angel Meadows, Big Local Collyhurst and members of the Many Hands Craft Collective (a group I have an on-going collaborative practice with in the area). We worked together through a series of online sessions, socially distanced and self-led photo walks, oral history sessions, and postal engagement, to explore the local area, its heritage and share stories about the hidden histories of the Irk Valley.
The stories and photographs created explored what people saw by the river today. Moreover they raised and reflected upon ideas of local of community, personal journeys, nature and changing landscapes and concerns and aspirations for the regeneration of the local area. To quote one of our participants, the project was celebratory of the area but raised their own concerns which are ‘political with a little p, but hopefully still have impact’.
The exhibition was accompanied by a poem by one of the members of the friends of Angel Meadows and a series of text panels echoing personal statements from those involved. You can also view a wider selection of work via the love exploring app HERE