Is Anybody Listening? Acquisitions

ACQUISITIONS

Deciding which photographs to acquire for the University of Salford Art Collection was one of the most painstaking aspects of the project. The Collection was dedicated to acquiring work as a legacy of the project from the beginning, but deciding how best to capture the strength of the project was an important one.

Each touring venue provided a different experience with different pieces resonating with different audiences. Additionally, the responses from young people across the region varied. Selecting just a few pieces to represent the overall success of the project posed a significant challenge.

Curator Lindsay Taylor invited other voices to weigh in on the decision. This included opening up a conversation around the acquisition process at the Symposium and inviting input from the symposium panel and attendees. The University of Salford Art Collection explored the process further in a ‘Thinking Acquisitions’ workshop, delving deeper into questions around who should be making the decisions of which work to collect. In addition, Lindsay engaged with young people from Our Time, Our Place in both Little Hulton and Elsmere Port which works they would choose to acquire.

While initially it was agreed that The University of Salford Art Collection agreed they would collect five works from both Bank Top and Thatcher’s Children, Taylor ultimately chose to collect a total of 11 works. This decision aimed to better represent the series of works, the project, and the families whose stories the images capture.

Throughout the project, this process was an open one, encouraging learning and reflection around the acquisition process, one which is usually shielded from view.

“For example with Bank Top – we’re thinking about how will we show them again. This has influenced the choice. We didn’t want just great portraits, we wanted to be able to tell the story of the series. [Through the tour] we had seen how audiences had reacted: that was important.” – Lindsay Taylor, University of Salford Art Collection

The following works have now been acquired by the University of Salford as a legacy of Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening? Our Time, Our Place.

Bank Top:

  1. Afzal (Birdman), 2020
  2. Swings, 2020
  3. Johnston Street, 2020
  4. Waleed, 2020
  5. Aisha, 2020
  6. Street Cricket, 2020

Thatcher’s Children:

  1. Mandy in Kitchen, Blackpool, 1992
  2. Donna with plates, Blackpool, 1992
  3. Kirsti on table, Blackpool, 1992
  4. Kirsti in back alley, Darwen, 2018
  5. Emma in kitchen, Darwen, 2018

Bank Top

Craig Easton, Afzal (Birdman), 2020. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Waleed, 2020. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Aisha, 2020.
Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Johnston Street, 2020. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Swings, 2020. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Street Cricket, 2020. Courtesy the artist.

Thatcher’s Children

Craig Easton, Mandy in Kitchen, Blackpool, 1992. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Donna with plates, Blackpool, 1992. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Kirsti on table, Blackpool, 1992.Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Kirsti in back alley, Darwen, 2018. Courtesy the artist.
Craig Easton, Emma in kitchen, Darwen, 2018. Courtesy the artist.
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Is Anybody Listening? Our Time, Our Place is presented by the University of Salford and generously supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.