Two Years of People of Anfield

Photographer Emma Case and writer & poet Pauline Rowe have developed and delivered a programme of creative collaborative interventions to respond to the specific issues and needs that matter to people who live and work in the Anfield area. Here we share some creative outcomes of this collaboration.

People of Anfield: Creative outcomes

The People of Anfield project directly engaged with more than 800 people in the Anfield area through events, exhibitions and workshops and social media discussions. People from diverse backgrounds were included in the project through the creative writing and photography sessions delivered at Liverpool Lighthouse. Some of the participants were refugees and asylum seekers for whom English was a second language (languages spoken include Turkish, Arabic & Pashto).

• The Flowers Still Grow Exhibition at Open Eye Gallery 
• Heroes of Anfield, open air exhibition displayed on public hoardings 
• Oakfield Terrace exhibition ‘Photo Notes’ 
• ‘The People of Anfield’ and “Kitty’s After Dark” exhibitions at Kitty’s Launderette
• 10 photography skills workshops
• 3 pop-up photography events
• 4 public and community engagement sessions
• 1 youth club event
• Establishing Kitty’s Writers as an active community group
• 34 writing workshops 
• 5 school workshops at Pinehurst school
• Poetry film ‘Terraces’ 
• ‘The Flowers Still Grow’ brochure
• ‘Writing in the Community’ essay by Pauline Rowe 

Honest but kind documentation: what participants say

“Great creative project to collaborate with. Really impressed with the honest but kind way of documenting the challenges and strengths of our community.”

“Anfield is often misrepresented and negatively depicted, but Emma and Pauline continue to be conscious and considerate in rebalancing that. Got a cracker picture of my 3 out of it too.” 

“I was very proud and honoured to have my picture taken and be included in the People of Anfield exhibition, even as an Evertonian when the image of me appeared looking directly across Walton Breck Road at the Kop!”

“Anfield is a wonderful neighbourhood inhabited by so many lovely, interesting and talented people. I believe projects like this are a great way to bring people together and celebrate the community and culture.”

Unexpected gifts: Photographer Emma Case reflects on People of Anfield

Anfield is a sensitive place, politically and socially and navigating this well isn’t easy. It takes a huge amount of listening and a real mindful, committed approach to work in the area. I am extremely proud of the work we have done over the two years of this residency and feel that we have built hugely positive and strong collaborative relationships with local people, organisations and local councillors, and the work feels such a strong legacy for future creative work that we know is wanted (and needed) by so many in the local community.

I did a handful of pop-up shoots at local events including Stanley Park Market and was initially worried that we might not have many people wanting to be involved and have their photo taken. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was received so well and so many wanted to be a part of it. I was extremely grateful to have Tricia from OEG as an assistant for some of the shoots and also Pauline came to help at an event too. It’s a lot to navigate, meeting people very briefly (which is not how I usually work when taking photos or running sessions) and it meant that we had to be very meticulous with consent forms and contact details as we didn’t know people and potentially weren’t seeing them again.

These shoots (and the resulting wall) are one of my favourite parts of the project. I felt everyone was really proud to have their portrait taken and included in the exhibition. It was lovely to be able to take photos of families, children, grandparents, pets and staff members of local organisations and even though each photo was taken in around 5 minutes, the exchanges were really wonderful and many people expressed how lovely it was to be doing something positive about the area that they not only live in, but also really love and want to be proud of.

The other unexpected gift from these portraits is how they were received once they were shown. One participant shared that he had been struggling with low self-confidence for a while and seeing himself, large scale on a wall gave him a sense of ‘belonging’ and had a positive impact on his sense of worth.

Others commented how the portraits felt like they gave a window to each person. Everyone’s portrait felt open and welcoming, and it was nice to see a positive reflection of the diversity of the community in Anfield.

Writer Pauline Rowe adds, The People of Anfield has focussed on communication, care, listening, reflecting, our own learning as artists (about the people and place) and encouraging people to express themselves and be heard in a wide range of ways. I hope we can continue to build and develop this project.