Manchester’s radical history in the limelight

Article published: Monday, February 13th 2012

One of the North West’s hidden treasures, the Working Class Movement Library (WCML) in Salford, has been shortlisted for the Culture24′s Connect10 Museums at Night competition.

If they should win, the library will get the opportunity to host an event in May, featuring contemporary artist and British photographer Simon Roberts. The People’s History Museum (PHM) has also been shortlisted in a different category, to host the work of Manchester-educated photographer Martin Parr.

In such times of austerity and social unrest, the historical and contemporary stories that these two institutions have to tell seem particularly relevant, and both are hoping that the potential arrival of two such established artists could boost the profiles of these often under-appreciated resources.

The WCML documents the movements past and present of ordinary people, from protests, trade unions and activists, to working lives and family histories. Its collection began in Stretford, in the house of a couple, Eddie and Ruth Frow. They used the library as a resource, writing a multitude of articles and essays on the labour movement. Their interest and involvement in the movement lasted throughout their lives and ensured the future of the library itself.

The library moved to Salford in the 1980s with the agreement of Salford Council. Since then, with the advent of more space, the collection has continued to expand, combining the current with the venerable, from delicate books of brown paper, to emails from the ongoing anti-cuts campaigns.

The PHM’s collection is also vast. Opened in Manchester in 1990, it is home to an array of items and artefacts from the last 200 years, including posters, political cartoons and ceramics that exhibits history of the labour movement in Britain and the social history of working people. The museum has an extensive collection of photographic images too, and they are keen for a contemporary artist to add to this tradition.

The works of photographers Simon Roberts and Martin Parr would look to complement the objectives of the respective institutions. Simon Roberts famously made his way across eleven time zones to make records of the places and people of post-Soviet Russia. His work has often been of a documentary style, interested both in people and the identity of place.

The WCML said of the artist, “Simon’s work portrays people in very striking ways in relation to their setting and we see this as offering the potential for startling new ways of looking at our building.”

Martin Parr too looks to document the lives of people through his photography. “His subject matter, ordinary people, resonates with the extraordinary story of ordinary people that the PHM displays,” a spokesperson from the PHM said.

Both institutions are planning an interactive element to the event if they are successful in the competition. According to WCML, “Our event is called ‘Knowledge is Power’. We want to encourage event participants to provide their own responses to our theme by uploading their own photos on Flickr.”

The PHM also wants to inspire Manchester’s young photographers, “We would be thrilled to bring Martin back to his student home of Manchester to talk about his work.” The museum aims to run a competition on the theme of ‘Protest’, with the winner being announced on the night of the event.

Voting closes at 5pm on Monday 5 March.

Katy Tolman

To vote for your museum or gallery of choice click this link

For more information visit the websites of the Working Class Movement Library and the People’s History Museum

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