#WORKTOWNGHOSTTOWN is an exhibition presented in public space about public space, which brings together the work of four locally based photographers – Henry Iddon, Kate Yates, Dawn Mander and Claire Walmsley Griffiths – who have been documenting Blackpool in and out of lockdown over the last 16 months.

Since March 2020, hundreds of photographs have been taken, many of which have been circulated digitally by the photographers themselves and/or by the Grundy through its social media channels as part of the first iteration of the #WORKTOWNGHOSTTOWN project (8 – 25 May 2020). This new iteration of the project brings together a small selection of these images, some previously unseen, for public display on the glass panels, which form part of Grundy’s forecourt at the front of the building.

#WORKTOWNGHOSTTOWN draws influence from the Mass-Observation study of Bolton and Blackpool (1937-40), known as the Worktown Project, in which Blackpool was heavily profiled as a site of mass tourism and pilgrimage for working people. Throughout this period of extended period of intermittent lockdowns the photographers have continued to work where and when possible, to document Blackpool; a storied site of mass tourism and pilgrimage at a time of lockdown, social distancing and travel restrictions.

#WORKTOWNGHOSTTOWN has been programmed to coincide with Seaside: Photographed, a new exhibition taking place across all of the Grundy’s ground floor gallery spaces from 24 July -11 September. *

This major exhibition looks at the relationship between photography and the British seaside from the 1850s to the present. Images of the beach, hotel life, the holiday camp, dressing up and dressing down, wild waves and coastlines all combine to create a rich picture of our resorts. Curated by Val Williams and Karen Shepherdson, Seaside: Photographed is a touring exhibition organised by Turner Contemporary.

With support from Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund.

This exhibition has been made possible as a result of the Government Indemnity Scheme. We would like to thank HM Government for providing Government Indemnity and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England for arranging the indemnity.

*  Exhibition dates are subject to confirmation and / or change in line with government guidance.