About this Event
There is a class problem in the creative industries. What are the economic and cultural barriers to creative work and practice, and what can be done to support the next generation of working-class talent?
MCYS and the Class Research Group (CRG) at Manchester Met present a screening of the documentary Tish (2023) about acclaimed photographer Tish Murtha, to generate debate about the legacy of her work and the experiences of creative industries for those from working-class backgrounds. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Jen Corcoran and the launch of an exciting new collaboration between MYCS/CRG/SODA and the social enterprise SharpFutures that will support a group of young working-class people to respond to the themes raised by Tish and her work.
About Tish
“A working-class photographer captures the impact of Thatcherism on the north of England but is unable to escape the poverty and inequality she exposed.
Driven by a commitment to document the impact of deindustrialisation on working class communities in Northeast England in the 1970s and 1980s, Tish Murtha used her camera to expose societal inequality. She felt she had an obligation to the people and problems within her local environment, and that documentary photography could highlight and challenge the social disadvantages that she herself had suffered. However, despite early acclaim for her work, she was unable to make a living from photography and died in poverty.
The film is a journey of exploration for Ella Murtha as both daughter and custodian of the Tish Murtha archive, a chance to elevate and preserve a legacy that has been lost and to tell the story of an artist and woman outside of the ‘mother’ that existed for her – or the version of Tish claimed within dominant narratives of the 70s and 80s photography – from the people who knew Tish and the images she left behind.
Opening Night Film - Sheffield DocFest 2023.
DIRECTOR Paul Sng
PRODUCER Jen Corcoran
NARRATED BY Maxine Peake
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN United Kingdom” (https://www.modernfilms.com/tish)
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
SODA - cinema room - GF.12., 14 Higher Chatham St, Manchester, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
