Mother Town
Referred to locally as the ‘Mother Town’, Burslem is one of the 6 towns of Stoke-on-Trent. The town is steeped in history and culture, being the birthplace of Josiah Wedgwood and other famous pioneers such as Clarice Cliff and Arthur Berry. The town was also home to the former Royal Doulton factory, and the epicentre for the much celebrated local author Arnold Bennett and his observations of urban life.
Between 2018 - 2020, I acquired a part time role as a community development worker, working in Burslem for ‘My Community Matters’ a small team of community development workers that specialise in community-led asset-based approaches to regeneration. Here, I worked alongside a research team from Exeter University, researching levels of connectivity, using an innovative research methodology. Part of this work was to visually map the town, and providing visuals that accompany the research.
During this time I developed many relationships, working with existing services, partners and most importantly residents. We created many community-led initiatives, from events in the park to coffee mornings. A community photography club emerged from my practice, meeting people and realising there was natural interest in photography by some residents. The newly formed BCCC group made the ‘Telling Stories’ project, and new opportunities followed in the form of getting their work seen in publications.
These pictures are the result of my initial visual mapping, together with a more autiobiographical journal of a place that I have spent many hours, and where I have formed new relationships. The work is a personal and honest visual study of one of Stoke-on-Trent’s treasured towns.
Photographs
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