Shirley Baker: Life stories audio guide

This project focused on two heritage elements:

• 150 rare photographs by Salford-born Shirley Baker, that have come to full public attention following decades of obscurity
• the life stories of people growing up in inner-city Manchester and Salford from 1961 to 1981

Baker (1932-2014) is widely acknowledged as one of Britain's only female post-war 'street photographers’. Her photographs are characterised as a documentary record of the communities of inner-city Manchester and Salford as they endured the prolonged demolition of a controversial programme of ‘slum clearance’.

The newly brought-to-light images were on special loan to Manchester City Art Gallery from May to September 2017 and were complemented by a bespoke audio guide and textual materials for use during the exhibition.

The materials also formed the basis of an education programme, as well as a longer-term legacy which includes archiving the life stories, academic publications, and conference presentations.

This project brought Baker’s fascinating work, and an understanding of the historical period she captured on camera, to a wider audience.