ARE KIRKBY

We are Kirkby brought together two distinct but interlinked collaborative projects by photographic artist Tony Mallon, filmmaker and visual anthropologist Jemma O’Brien, the Northwood Golden Years Group and service users and staff from Kirkby Resource Centre.

Photographer Tony Mallon has worked with local residents from the Northwood Golden Years group since 2016, developing collaborative projects, which explore the past, present and potential future of people and places that make up this local area. For We are Kirkby, Tony and the group began collaborating with filmmaker Jemma O’Brien. The project looked to represent the current hustle and bustle of the town market, with the group co-authoring the ideas and co-producing the photographs throughout the process. Whilst the works the groups produced celebrated the current community who support their local high street, the work also reflects the ever-shifting landscape of Kirkby town centre.

A new video work was produced, which focused on two of the group members, Dolly and Joan. The video work reflected upon the close ties, trust and friendships, which form overtime and echo the wider values of the whole group.

Also as part of We Are Kirkby, a new collaboration was developed between Tony Mallon and the staff and service users and local residents accessing the Kirkby Resource Centre. Tony worked closely with individuals (many of whom live with dementia) and staff to explore alternative techniques of how storytelling and physical movement can act as a trigger for key memories in people’s lives.

Both projects were showcased within Kirkby Gallery and through public realm spaces using empty shopping spaces throughout the high street. The Northward Golden Years group used one of the shopping units to further engage with the public through drop in coffee mornings every Friday the exhibition ran.