Windmill women and Golden Vikings united
APHOTOGRAPHY exhibition is being held in Halton showing the ideas and identities of two distinct groups from the borough.
The As And When initiative at The Brindley shows pictures of the Widnes Vikings Golden Generation group and the Women Of Windmill Hill in Runcorn.
Pictures on display at the exhibition – which is running until Saturday, September 2 – show the daily lives of participants from both groups.
A Halton Borough Council spokesman said it shows how two groups living either side of the iconic Silver Jubilee Bridge are brought together through shared perspectives on social mobility, visibility, health and wellbeing.
The Women Of Windmill Hill, a group based in the Runcorn estate, began their project by actively reconnecting with their area and its history.
Along the way, they decided to base the style of their work on a 1970s promotional article about moving to the area, at a time when families were often dispersed to the ‘suburbs’ and away from the Liverpool slums.
They are exhibiting a body of work that compares promised perceptions of Windmill Hill in the 1970s with the reality of today.
To explore the lives of Widnes Vikings Golden Generation Group, a social group for fans of the super league club aged over 55, participants were each given a disposable camera and asked to document what they do on match day before arriving at the stadium.
Through this process, the group collectively captured more than 450 photographs.
The images reveal the true extent of their social mobility and daily interactions, further highlighting their common aim of breaking ● down stereotypes that being older means being in-active.
The show has been developed by Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery and Halton Clinical Commissioning Group, with Halton Borough Council.
Open Eye Gallery invited photographers Gary Bratchford and Robert Parkinson to meet and work with the groups.
The work was produced collaboratively, with all artistic decisions made by both the photographers and members of the groups.
Some of the ideas behind As And When are based on the World Health Organisation’s 1948 definition of ‘health’ as ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’.
The exhibition looks at how a sense of belonging is a crucial foundation to healthy, happy people.
It is the first exhibition in a series of similar shows around the region, as part of a wider project called Culture Shifts.
Dave Sweeney is chief officer of NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group and Dr Cliff Richards is the social prescribing lead for Cheshire and Merseyside.
They said: “More recently there has been a focus on how to deal with less than complete health. Ultimately it is the resilience of individuals and communities that create health. Culture Shifts aims to throw light on this genesis.”
Over the next six months, a series of Culture Shifts shows will take place across Merseyside and Cheshire.
The projects connect photographers with various groups, encouraging people to explore the stories of their surroundings, deepen their understanding of their home and create a sense of positive community cohesion.
Shows will also take place in Toxteth, Kirby, Sefton, Wirral, and St Helens.
The exhibitions will culminate in a long-running show at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery in October, collecting together highlights from each of the exhibitions.
The free gallery at The Brindley is open from 10am to 5.30pm from Mondays to Fridays and 10am to 3pm on Saturdays.