A new photography exhibition looking at the representation of Salford through the 1960s/70s is coming to the Working Class Movement Library.
The 15-piece exhibition features the works of Salford’s own Shirley Baker and forms part of the research project, ‘Capturing the Modern Backdrop’ series, funded by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and undertaken by the University of Salford.
‘Capturing the Modern Backdrop’ is working to investigate the gap between the human experiences and the media’s portrayal of Salford (and wider Greater Manchester’s) throughout the urban modernisation of the 1960s/70s. This includes the destruction of many Edwardian and Victorian homes throughout the city, and the construction of social housing and tower blocks throughout the region.
The exhibition is one of three outreach projects planned between now and 2024 by the ‘Modern Backdrop’ Co-ordinators, Dr Tanja Popplereuter and Dr Alexandra Mitchell.
Shirley Baker’s photography is described as a humanist documentation of Salford’s working class population throughout the 1960s and 70s, and provides an ’empathetic’ perspective on the human experience.
Dr Alexandra Mitchell, Curator of the exhibition, said: “Shirley’s work is iconic and it captured a specific moment in time, we want to look at how the people who lived in Salford have been represented in visual culture, in photography, film and literature in the context of urban modernisation. The exhibition is also a prompt for people who lived through this period to get their memories going, understand what that transition was like and compare their memories to this visual representation.
“The exhibition is going to be held at the Working Class Movement Library and quite a lot of the subjects captured in these photographs are of a working class background so we want people to come in and be prompted to share their memories.
“For me it’s interesting because of Salford’s close proximity to Manchester. Does Salford get looked at in its own right? These areas that might have been forgotten about, how are they presented and why are they represented like that?”
Shirley Baker was born in Kersal in 1932, and began capturing photographs after receiving a camera from an Uncle at aged eight. She then studied Pure Photography at Manchester College of Technology, as well as courses at London Regent Street Polytechnic and London College of Printing. Few women received formal photography training at this time.
Dr Alex Mitchell continued: “Shirley was a social documentary photographer who wanted to capture those experiences. I’ve seen her work described as ’empathetic’, but she’s also there to capture those moments. It’s that gap between what is captured visually, and the feelings of the people in those photos.
“Some of her most famous works are the inner-city works in Salford, capturing the lives of people who lived there. She was doing this at a time where areas were in transition in in-built environments. You had this move in the 60s/70s the late victorian/ Edwardian terrace housing was being pulled down. In their place organisers were building modern social housing, high rises to replace them.”
The ‘Capturing the Modern Backdrop’ project is part of a wider community outreach programme. The organisers are planning a book reading, a film screening, a couple of academic workshops and a conference. At the end of the research, the findings of the project will be displayed in an exhibition at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery
‘Capturing The Modern Backdrop: Shirley Baker Photographing Salford’ can be located on the ground floor exhibition space of the Working Class Movement Library from 20th January to 21st April 2023, 4pm. It is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons from 1.00pm – 4.30pm. Entry is free.
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