Face It
The miners’ strike of 1984 and the legacy of the mining industry is the focus of a new exhibition at the Turnpike Gallery, Leigh. Face is a specially commissioned documentary, archive and audio-visual exhibition by Paula Keenan, Lesley Sutton and Dave Meehan which is open at the Turnpike until 3rd March.
objects relating to mining in Wigan have also been borrowed from the Museum of Science and Industry. Against the backdrop of images, stories, artefacts and maps depicting the huge number of coalfields in our area, emerges the changing face of our local working community over the last century. Project co-ordinator, Paula Keenan said: “This exhibition is the culmination of two years work from planning to completion. We have tried to capture something that is no longer visually present in our communities but is still alive in the hearts and minds of those once part of the coal industry. We hope people can take away shared memories, facts, and knowledge of a lost industry that Wigan is still proud of.” Entrance to the exhibition is free. Face then moves to the Museum of Wigan Life in Wigan from 10th March to the 5th May. For more information call the Turnpike Gallery on 01942 404 420.
It focuses on personal stories, the impact of the Miners’ Strike of 1984 and how the legacy of the mining industry is still a vital element of local culture and landscape. A documentary film by Dave Meehan and Paula Keenan features interviews with ex-miners and their wives, including stories from the 1984 strike. Archive images of pit brow lasses sit alongside other archive images and recent photographs of working women to reflect the journey of women in employment in the borough over a 150 year period. Historical
24 Local Life
www.locallife247.co.uk