A film and photographic exhibition will showcase an “uplifting and emotional” research project revealing Coventry as it came out of lockdown last summer.
Emerging from Lockdown will be screened at Holy Trinity Church in Coventry city centre on Wednesday, March 16 from 6.30pm – marking almost two years since the first UK lockdown. There will be a talk about the research that underpins the film’s creative narrative and an exhibition of the Coventry Photographic Grid Project that includes all 198 photographs.
Professor Jackie Hodgson, of Warwick Law School, who has worked on Grid Projects in other parts of the country including Birmingham, decided to cast a photographic gaze onto Coventry post-pandemic, as part of the University of Warwick’s 12-month Resonate Festival during the UK City of Culture.
Coventry residents turned ‘Smartphone’ photographers took to the streets to capture a small area of the city centre over two weeks last August.
Professor Hodgson went on to help produce a film with a narrative read by Coventry-born actor Bharti Patel, who plays Ruhma Carter in BBC soap Doctors. It weaves the voices of the 25 Coventry people interviewed by University of Warwick researchers, into a story written by Warwick graduate and creative writer Georgie Evans, alongside images from this mass participation public photographic project.
Professor Hodgson said: “The experiences captured in this project strike a chord with people; some found the film really emotional coming out of the isolation of lockdown, and what we’ve all been through collectively.
“I am really proud of the film. It has been an exciting and innovative way to reflect on my research in creative ways and to communicate it to a wider audience. These are Coventry voices, but they resonate more widely, reflecting the experiences of so many of us. It is reflective and sobering, but also uplifting. I am pleased we have captured these voices now – it represents a great piece of local social history.”
Photography and graphic design teacher Dave Allen, of The Grid Project, said: “Those who live, work or visit Coventry were invited to take part in a map-based photographic survey of central Coventry in August 2021.
“The outcomes were exhibited at the Warwick Arts Centre in November, following the city centre displays that were mounted in the lead-up to the exhibition. These can be seen online at www.thegridproject.org.uk.
“The area covered by this project is small. It spans the area from the Transport Museum in the north, the Cathedral and Herbert Art Gallery & Museum to the east, The Wave to the south and the retail market to the west. Each location was only 70 metres from the next, giving a very dense grid.
“The locations were photographed twice to allow maximum participation in the project, with nearly 200 photographs being produced.”
For the full programme of Resonate Festival events this spring and three-day grand finale Resonate 2022, April 19 – 21, visit https://www.resonatefestival.co.uk/
- Emerging from Lockdown: Coventry Photographic Grid Project 2021 – Hertford Street by Teresa Dolan