In a world that is being shaped on a global scale, how do we still identify with where we’re from? Are young people still shaped by the history and community they live in or are their lives shaped by their new access to a global world, interacted with through a screen? These questions are the foundation of Open Eye Gallery’s Heritage Lottery Funded project with young people, Our North.
Our North is a project giving the young people of Sefton and Runcorn an opportunity to explore northern identity through the themes of heritage, fashion and culture. Inspired by Open Eye Gallery’s 2017 exhibition North: Identity, Photography and Fashion, the young people will work with artists, producers and curators to uncover what the north means to them today. Our North seeks to help young people use photography to communicate what their regional identity means to them today, and how that differs from common ideas around what it means to be Northern.
The young people are taking part in a broad range of activities – research into Open Eye Gallery’s archive of photos, photowalks, photo shoots, interviews – all exploring the way the North has been depicted, constructed and celebrated
Their work will form a new publication, an online showcase on PhotoStories and a digital display in the gallery.
Our North is supported by Heritage Lottery Fund.
