Open Eye Gallery: Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening?

Open Eye Gallery presents Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening?, a touring exhibition from The University of Salford, 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.

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 and 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 in Blackpool.

After Open Eye Gallery, Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening? will tour Blackpool (11 April – 31 May 2023, Blackpool School of Art and LeftCoast), Salford (18 September – 22 December 2023, New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery, University of Salford) and Birkenhead (24 January – 30 March 2024, Williamson Art Gallery and Museum).

The engagement programme, Our Time, Our Place will empower 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.

Image credit: Mohammed Afzal, Birdman of Bank Top, Craig Easton.