Saturday, 19 January 2019 at 9:00 am – Sunday, 31 March 2019 at 5:00 pm
Sarah Butler - 'Not Home' Exhibition
Date: Saturday 19th January - Sunday 31st March 2019
Location: People’s History Museum
Tickets: Free – Just turn up!
Not Home is part of a collaboration between Sarah Butler, the charity Justlife and the photographer, Stephen King.
The probation woman had said it was a B&B, which had sounded all right. He’d stayed in B&Bs as a kid, on holiday with his parents in Blackpool and Rhyll – remembers frilly curtains, bacon for breakfast, the smell of the sea when you opened the front door. He doesn’t need to go inside this house to know that it’s not what any sane person would call a B&B.
Meet the residents of ‘a shit B&B in a half-forgotten bit of East Manchester' – Ken's words, and he ought to know, he's lived in room 1 for twenty-two years. Angel’s in room 3 – she’s got herself clean and has a plan to get her little boy back from social services. Room 4 is Jimmy, who’s just heard that the man he put inside ten years ago is out and looking for him. Mike in room 5 is the newest resident, fresh out of jail with every intention of changing his life for the better – he just needs to stay away from the lads, and the drugs. Piotr and Charles share room 6. Piotr is a Polish labourer with a bust-up shoulder; Charles, a Londoner, has been sent to Manchester by housing services because they have nowhere for him to stay in the capital – he just wants to get back to his kids. And room 2? That’s Ewan’s room, but he’s gone missing...
Sarah wrote this book in collaboration with the charity Justlife who celebrate their 10th anniversary this year. Justlife support and advocate for people living in unsupported temporary accommodation in Manchester. Written with the input of Justlife’s clients, the novella, Not Home will sit alongside a companion text, also titled Not Home: a series of true-life stories with accompanying portraits taken by photographer Stephen King. The aim of the project is to create both a great piece of art, and raise awareness of this hidden homeless population and the issues they face.
The exhibition will run at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester on the 17th and the 18th of November and then move to the People’s History Museum, Manchester for the period January to March 2019. The project is funded by Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts programme.
The book will be given away free and will be available to download from Justlife’s website www.justlife.org.uk. For a physical copy, please email nothome@justlife.org.uk
The book will be given away free and will be available to download from Justlife’s website www.justlife.org.uk. For a physical copy, please email nothome@justlife.org.uk
About Sarah Butler
Sarah Butler is Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. Sarah Butler explores the relationship between writing and place through prose, poetry and participatory projects. Recent writing residencies include writer-in-residence on the Central line; at Great Ormond Street Hospital; and Stories From The Road – a project exploring personal stories of Oxford Road, Manchester. She has two novels published by Picador in the UK and with fourteen international publishers: Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love and Before The Fire. Her third novel, Jack and Bet, will be published by Picador in Spring 2020.
About Stephen King
Stephen King is a UK social documentary and portrait photographer. His work includes both personally instigated projects and commercial commissions. The projects and commissions he undertakes often focus upon our relationships to physical and social space along with notions of ownership and belonging. Stephen's work has been exhibited widely, most recently at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), the Museum of Liverpool, and The Red Barn Gallery Belfast.
About Justlife
Justlife was formed in October 2008. An organisation which would come to symbolise hope and justice for the residents of Manchester’s Homeless B&Bs, actively reaching out to the afflicted, the poor, the addicted, the lost, sick and traumatised; building trust, finding the good, gathering help, working and campaigning for transformation. Justlife’s research has shown that over 50,000 households in England live in Bed & Breakfast facilities and they estimate that there could be another 25,000 accommodated in similar lodgings under different names.
The charity is now working extensively with residents of unsupported temporary accommodation in Manchester and Brighton, providing intensive health, housing and personal support to residents. It also has an influential role in research and policy through a network of Temporary Accommodation Action Groups in various local authority areas across the country.
For further information on Justlife, please visit www.justlife.org.uk or contact Christa Maciver at christa@justlife.org.uk or on 07528 869 111