Making of us begins

Alongside my commercial work (which typically pays the bills) I’m a social and documentary photographer.

It’s early days in my creative practice. Having been on Crossing Sectors #2 with Open Eye Gallery (a learning and development programme for socially engaged photographers), I realised that I wanted to move from simply social photography (where the emphasis is mostly on me creating content and making all the decisions) to a new collaborative way of working with participants. I’ve got a particular interest in working with those in our communities who don’t usually have a platform for their voice, or those who are hidden away and never listened to.

“When referring to the term socially engaged photography, we mean activities or projects where photographers and communities/ individuals come together to co-author or co-produce visual representations of the world around us. The process behind the work produced is often as important as the final photographic work, and projects are often reliant on collaboration and discussion. The work often reflects multiple voices about a particular social, political, economical or environmental issue, rather than that of a single artistic voice.” (Open Eye Gallery)

I’ve just been accepted as one of the artists on the Making of Us programme, designed and led by The Turnpike in Leigh. It’s a new professional development programme supporting mid-career socially engaged artists who live and work in Greater Manchester. I’ve been paired up to work with workshop leader, flautist and teacher Sarah Atter, and we’re going to be working with True Colours CIC in Leigh and their participants.

Funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the programme brings together cross-sector expertise of partners in the arts, social care and education sectors to engage young people and empower them/give them a voice through creativity and the arts. I’m going to be blogging about my learning and experience on the project. I can’t wait to get started!