A Spotlight On … Andy Yates and Anna Wijnhoven

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As we say a fond farewell to Open Eye Gallery’s Creative Producer Andy Yates, we also welcome our new Assistant Creative Producer Anna Wijnhoven who will be taking over the role supporting our socially engaged work with schools and young people across the region. The pair discuss Andy’s ongoing socially engaged photography project, ‘Tree Story: A History of Liverpool City Region through its Trees’ and how both practitioners developed an interest in collaborative and community focused photography. 

(Anna) Tell me a little bit about how you got into photography and how your experience and relationship with Socially Engaged Photography has changed as time has gone on? 

I’ve always enjoyed pictures but I didn’t start taking photographs until I went traveling in my early 20’s. Before I went, I decided to get myself a decent digital camera to capture all of the memories that I would make during my time away. This is where I fell in love with making images – it was a way of capturing the memory of a place or moment and having something of my own to remember it by.

When I got home from traveling, I decided that I was going to study photography and enrolled on a photography course at a local college. There I learned about the different types of photography and how to understand the power of an image. Socially Engaged Photography wasn’t on my radar at that point, but I have always had an interest in people and community. At the start of my photographic journey, this would look like me capturing my own experience of a particular place or community, but it would never have included the voice of those involved. Whenever I photographed people there was always the tension of ‘would I like to be represented in this way?’ and this would often get in the way of me taking the photograph.

I think the socially engaged approach is much more about including the voices of those represented in the work, whether that is through writing, sharing ideas, taking photographs or just being there. This approach suited me much more, it helps shift the power back into the hands of the community and gives them the opportunity to say yes and no to what is shared.

After exploring this approach through my MA, I feel that my work going forward will always include the voices of those involved.

‘Tree Story: A History of Liverpool City Region through its Trees’ is your most recent project, can you tell us more about what drew you to working on the project?

I wish I could say I came up with the idea, but the project itself came about through conversations between Open Eye Gallery, Dot-Art and Liverpool City Council. I was interested at the start because it’s such a lovely project. Who doesn’t like trees? It’s a project that everyone can connect to and a great way to bring our attention to the trees of Liverpool. It initially started with a group of local academics, historians, and residents sharing a story about a tree that holds some significance to them and then I would go and photograph it. This included trees such as the Allerton Oak in Calderstones Park and Adam and Eve in the courtyard of Speke Hall. It then went out to the public, inviting them to share a story and an image of their favourite trees and we received over 60  responses that you can see on Open Eye Stories.

At that point we knew that people were interested in the project, so we applied for a couple of funding bids with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Liverpool City Council as part of the Clinically and Extremely Vulnerable Programme. Fortunately we were awarded both funds. This allowed us to share the project with schools and community groups and grow the project to a much bigger audience.

This project is heavily influenced by the response from the local community. How important do you think getting the local community involved in a project such as ‘ Tree Story: A History of Liverpool City Region through its Trees’ is? 

Yes, we’ve worked with nearly 20 different community groups and schools for this project. It’s become massive. It’s been really interesting working with such a wide cross section of people aged between 4-80 and seeing the differences in how they interact with trees. From the enthusiasm and excitement shown by primary school children to the wisdom and steadiness imparted by a retired person, it’s been such a privilege learning from all of these groups.

For this project, the response and the content has to come from the community for it to carry any significance because it is about the history of the Liverpool City Region. By involving the community it creates a more authentic body of work as it becomes a history created by the people who live in the city. The great thing about involving the community in this project is that you end up with stories of trees that you never would have known existed. It also removes it from being the more well known trees.

‘Trees’ is featured in The Open Eye Gallery’s ‘Look Photo Biennial 2022: Climate’. Could you tell me more about why this project is important in the conversation about climate change? 

Trees are incredibly important to how we tackle the climate crises. We all know the benefits that trees have for the environment and one of the ways we can make a difference is by how we look after them. Also, global tree planting is going to play a massive part in how we tackle the climate crisis, especially in removing emissions from human activity, so it’s really important that we highlight the huge benefits of trees. As part of the project we are working with Mersey Forest who will be supporting the project including the community groups and schools to plant trees on their grounds.

I also think by personalising a tree and giving it a story, it better helps us feel connected to that tree and the other trees around us. This project has acted as a great way for people to see and value the trees around them.

What has stuck with you the most from your experience working on this project? 

Now the only thing I notice when I go for a walk is trees! I’m constantly trying to ID the tree, guess it’s age and consider how I would photograph it. It’s that classic situation where, when you start looking for something, it’s the only thing you see. I think this is really important actually, because this has become a big part of the response from the groups I’ve been working with. When you ask a group at the start of the project, ‘What do you think about trees?’, a number of them will say ‘nothing’ or ‘I haven’t given them much thought.’ After one workshop, people are looking at them completely differently and start to notice things that they would never have done before. There is a greater appreciation for them. This is the power of photography – it provides you with the opportunity to take notice, look for the detail and really embrace the place you’re in.

Also, I think we can learn a lot from how children interact with nature. Seeing how the primary school children embraced this project and how they see everything with new eyes and enthusiasm was refreshing. It made me think about the need to be present in the moment and how it’s often the simple things like trees that can bring the most joy. One of the schools chose to focus their project on 2 sycamore trees situated in the middle of the playground. The children see them everyday, but during the workshops they responded to them like they were seeing them for the first time.

Although the ‘Tree’s’ project is keeping you on your toes, what’s next for you? Is there anything in the pipeline that you would like to talk about? 

Right now there is nothing imminent. The trees project will take me until the end of the year and I have a few other potential opportunities connected to it. I’m currently in a season of having a young family and needing to find the right balance between work and family life, so I’ve decided to work a little closer to home for now. It’s an exciting time – it’s an opportunity for me to reflect on my 5 years working for Open Eye Gallery and see how I can move forward in my practice. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for projects that spark my interest, but I also feel like it’s a great time to invest some time in my own personal work too.

(Andy) So Anna, congratulations on your new role! I hear you have some big shoes to fill ha. Can you tell me a little bit about your journey to date and how you came to be in this role?

Hiya Andy, thanks so much, I do have some big shoes to fill, but hopefully as time goes on I will grow into them!

I grew up always wanting to be a painter as my grandad was a traditional signwriter and I was so awestruck watching him paint as a kid. I did GCSE and AS level art and design but decided it wasn’t what I wanted in the long term, so I dropped out of college and re-enrolled elsewhere after realising my passion lay with photography. During my time at school and college, I struggled a lot with my mental health, and after completing a diploma, I took a few years out.

I got myself back on my feet and two years later decided that I actually wanted to go to university, so enrolled at UCEN Manchester. During my time there, I learnt a lot about socially engaged practice, and spent a lot of time exploring how photography can have a positive impact on mental health and recovery. I graduated this spring with a first-class honours degree and if someone told me I would have done that 5 years ago I wouldn’t have believed it! I was lucky enough to recently get the opportunity to work with the amazing team at Open Eye on their young people and school’s socially engaged programme as an assistant creative producer, and I am incredibly excited for the next chapter of my life.

Open Eye Gallery is a wonderful place to work, you’ll certainly be given lots of opportunities to try new things. What are you most looking forward to doing in this position?

I am incredibly thankful to be given the opportunity to work with Open Eye Gallery, and even in my short time working there, no two days have been the same! The thing I am most looking forward to doing is working alongside young people. I have always loved seeing what makes people tick and hearing all about their passions and dreams, so I think working with young people and helping them see their potential and that their dreams are achievable, is something that I am truly excited for!

Well it’s been lovely speaking with you Anna. I’m sure you’ll love working for the Gallery and it sounds like you’re going to bring some really exciting things to the team.

Aww thanks Andy! It has been lovely to speak to you too.


 

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