‘Shirley Baker: Children at Play’, exhibition at Stepleford Granary 11th June – 25th August – https://www.staplefordgranary.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions-overview/shirley-baker
‘In the middle of the 20th century, “playing out” was a daily norm and for many children, especially those in cramped terraced houses, the street was a place free from adult intervention where they could create their own games, rules and rituals. These were the scenarios that fascinated Shirley Baker (1932 – 2014), one of Britain’s most compelling yet underexposed social documentary photographers, which she captured in tender, playful and candid photographs of post-war street life in Manchester and Salford. Taken during the late afternoon, working fathers are absent, mothers are washing, cleaning and cooking; and children, home from school, are at play. There is a scarcity of toys, but an abundance of invention and adventure, along with a palpable sense of community, solidarity and resilience.’
‘This exhibition consists of 39 vintage gelatin silver and chromogenic prints taken and hand-printed by Shirley Baker between 1960 and 1973, focussing on depictions of children at play amidst the urban clearance programmes of inner city Manchester and Salford.’