Growing Up In Dudley - exhibition
We’re launching an exhibition to celebrate the stories and histories of people who grew up in the town - thanks to your contributions.
Launching 4th November the first part of the exhibition will see submitted photographs displayed at CoLab Dudley on the High Street. The pictures and memories were collated during the lockdowns of 2020* /21 and show a vibrant glimpse of how we lived, worked, shopped and played in Dudley.
(The stories, both written and oral, were collated during lockdown of 2020 as well as recorded in the town centre during the Summer of this year.
“We’ve been using social media to gather people’s stories and photos, asking them to share their memories of what it was like to grow up in Dudley”, says the project curator David O’Coy.
Over 1000 images have been submitted to the project which is being shared online as well as on a Facebook group ‘ Growing Up In Dudley’. They include a range of images from the 1920’s to the present day.
“We’ve had some great images and stories submitted. I really like some pictures of a group of punks in Dudley town centre that Darren Radburn sent in, taken around 1980. Darren's brother is in the picture and when we shared it on our Facebook group the person that actually took the photo saw it and got in touch to tell us the story of how it was captured.”
“It was pure chance that the lads were in the town centre, they looked fantastic and I also realised this was approaching the end of an era” said the photographer Arthur Harris. “I approached the lads and they posed for me. Unfortunately I was on the end of my roll of film so only got a couple in colour.”
While the project started during lockdown the team were also keen to make sure that they could share some of the images in real life for those who don’t have access to social media and the internet.
“In late July we took over some market stalls during an event organised by CoLab Dudley called Do Fest so that we could share some of the amazing photos that people had sent in. We wanted to encourage people to share more stories and managed to get numerous people to stop for a recording with the help of Roger who runs a friendship project called Sgt Peppers Friends.
One of the people actually saw himself on a photo; Trevor Preece walked up to the stall to tell us he was actually the guy on the bike. He was pictured posing on his Triumph 650 Chopper which he built in 1973.”
Pictures at Dudley Zoo make a regular appearance but so do more unusual photos. Paul Darby shared a picture of him as a child celebrating the Queens Coronation in 1953 while Levene Brown sent us a picture of her time posing as ‘Girl Friday’ for the Dudley News.
Paul Lichfield shared an image from the Express & Star of him and his brother examining the knocked down wall from outside house which was taken down by a dustbin truck from Brierley Hill.
“This is a photo of a council dustbin lorry that crashed into our house at 72 Adelaide St, Brierley Hill. Would be about 1961. That’s me in the middle showing me pants, with my elder brother Martin on the right and another local lad Alan Tonks who happened to be passing at the time and was asked to be in the picture.”
Jean Vincent sent in a picture of her school play at Blowers Green Primary which shows how diverse and multicultural the town has always been:
“Blowers Green was big on performing arts, way ahead of its time. Our friends came from all over the world to grow up in Dudley.” She said of the picture.
The second part of the exhibition, launching on the 18th November, will include a series of portraits by award-wining photographer Marta Kochanek, a quilt produced over four months by a group lead by textile artist Jan Norton, and further artworks and images.
“We wanted to give people an opportunity to be inspired by the stories and the work that was sent in so we put a call out to artists to help us. The Black Country Collage Club produced 50 images using photographs from the archive and we’ve commissioned several artists to interpret some of the submissions in their own way.”
One commission is by illustration artist Newtasty who has produced a series of posters depicting some of Dudley’s iconic buildings.
“We’ve become really fond of our hometown again and once you take time to look around the buildings you realise just how beautiful some of them are, or were, and their significant history.”
Provision House, JB’s, Teddy Grey’s, the Fountain on the market, The Hippodrome and and of course the famous Castle have been captured and will be available to buy at the exhibition.
The project has been produced by David O’Coy in partnership with CoLab Dudley and Dudley Council’s Townscape Heritage and supported by the Heritage Lottery fund.
Growing Up In Dudley - photos, memories and stories
Launch event: 4th November, 5-7.30pm - all welcome
Exhibition dates: 5th November - 17th November
Venue open: Monday, Wednesday- Friday 11am-3pm
Growing Up In Dudley - portraits and artworks
Launch event: 18th November, 5-7.30pm - all welcome
Exhibition dates: 19th November - 3rd December
Venue open: Monday, Wednesday- Friday 11am-3pm
Venue: CoLab Dudley, 201a High Street, DY1 1QQ (opposite Wetherspoons)