Tag Archives: Housing

2Up 2Down: Liverpool Biennial, Housing and Regeneration

Brick by Brick and Loaf by Loaf, we build ourselves

A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to be able to contribute to a pretty amazing Liverpool Biennial project working on regeneration in Anfield called Homebaked: 2Up 2Down. It was lead by a unique artist called Jeanne Van Heeswijk whose work focuses on  re-imaging social spaces and encouraging greater participation and interaction in public spaces.  Although the project – which is working to convert a shutdown space into a community bakery and centre- was launched a couple of weeks ago, for many it was another stage of a much longer process. One which see the homes as well as faith and trust returned to the residents of Anfield.

I was tasked with the rather lovely job of speaking to all those taking part in the project- either as volunteers or providing expert advice. The volunteers were particularly amazing people and I really enjoyed chatting them to about everything from art, houses, gardening to what they felt ‘living well’ was all about. You can check out all the profile interviews on this page.

  • Bread and houses – Liverpool Biennial pulls off a brilliant mix of art, theatre and social action (guardian.co.uk)

Hulme Mural: From Tranquil Pastures To A High-Rise Age

The 84-foot long mural at Hulme Library is an impressive work of public art which chronicles the history of Hulme from Roman times up until the present. Capturing the constant battle for decent homes, immigration following World War Two and the tumultuous periods of regeneration, the mural is a reminder of the transformation of Hulme across the ages.

See the full article on the mural at Manchester’s Radical History.

:: Photo via Arwa Aburawa.

Salford Star and Stephen Kingston

Uncovering the darker side of regeneration and social housing, the Salford Star has been rocking the boat in Salford since 2006. The only independent, radical and community-orientated news source in Salford, it’s “produced by Salfordians for Salfordians with attitude and love.” It won the 2008 Plain English Campaign and was runner up for the Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism in 2007. Taking its name from the popular radical newspaper the Northern Star, Salford Star has not only been writing stories but jumping in with two feet to help residents fight their battles. Manchester Radical History spoke to founder and editor Stephen Kingston.

Tell us a little about yourself and how the Salford Star started…
SK: Well, I’m not a trained journalist and I didn’t become a journalist till I was 28. For fifteen years I wrote for style and music magazines, in the Evening News, but you don’t get into journalism to interview Coronation Street stars and celebrities. That’s not why I got into it anyway. In the end, although I was getting very well paid to write for the national papers, I couldn’t get the real stories across which is housing, regeneration – things that mattered to people.

So I took a back step and started teaching journalism in the community and I did that for a few years, then I got offered the chance to help on a magazine called ‘Old Trafford News’ which is a community magazine which we revamped. So I did that and it was very successful. People saw the magazine that we were doing in Old Trafford and the community invited us to do one in Salford. But I said to them ‘hold on second, Salford is a city whereas Old Trafford is one square mile’. As Salford is a big city, we’ll need a big magazine to go with it! So Salford Star was born.

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