Williamson Art Gallery & Museum presents Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening?, a touring exhibition from the University of Salford Art Collection which showcases two award-winning series of photographs; Bank Top and Thatcher’s Children.
Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening? seeks to challenge typical stereotypes of northern communities through authentic representation and raise aspirations of young people within the region through an accompanying engagement programme called Our Time, Our Place.
The engagement programme, Our Time, Our Place being exhibited alongside Easton’s work, has empowered young people to explore their own history and share it through pathways in photography and associated practices.
Is Anybody Listening? Our Time, Our Place is presented by the University of Salford and generously supported by The National Heritage Lottery Fund.
Easton won Photographer of the Year (2021) at the Sony World Photography Awards with his series Bank Top, a collaboration with writer, poet and social researcher Abdul Aziz Hafiz, examining the representation and misrepresentation of northern communities. Commissioned by Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery, the work focused on a small, tight-knit community in Blackburn.
He also took second place in the documentary category for Thatcher’s Children, which explores the inter-generational nature of poverty and economic hardship as experienced by three generations of one family across the Northwest.
A passionate believer in working collaboratively with others, Easton also conceived and led the critically acclaimed SIXTEEN project with sixteen leading photographers exploring the hopes, ambitions and fears of sixteen-year-olds all around the UK, in which Williamson Art Gallery also participated as an exhibiting gallery.
He often tackles stereotypes and responds to the negative way in which the mainstream media can portray Northern communities. The relevance of Easton’s work has resurfaced in a new light as communities endure the cost-of-living crisis and face new challenges and segregation.
The exhibition comes at the same time as the launch of Easton’s new book centred on his award-winning Thatcher’s Children series. Quotes from successive prime ministers demonstrate how deprivation is connected to the social policy failures of successive governments.
The exhibition marks the start of Wirral’s year as Borough of Culture for the Liverpool City Region. Wirral Borough of Culture 2024 is a year of incredible experiences in incredible places, reflecting Wirral’s story and celebrating its people. The programme features a diverse line-up of culture, arts and heritage across the whole borough and shines a spotlight on Wirral’s creative community and the regeneration of the Left Bank of the River Mersey.  Wirral Borough of Culture 2024 is led by Wirral Council and local cultural partners, with support from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
26th January – 6th April.
Is Anybody Listening? showcases two award-winning series of photographs by award-winning photographer Craig Easton.