Photographer Tish Murtha's powerful depictions of working class life in Newcastle's West End in the late 1970s and 1980s have attracted acclaim from far and wide.
Tish died in 2013 on the day before her 57th birthday. Since then, her daughter Ella has worked tirelessly to promote her mother’s pictorial legacy. Tish's work has been the subject of dedicated books, national newspaper and magazine features, and major exhibitions - and now a feature-length documentary, Tish, is in the offing.
Last year, schoolchildren in Elswick - the location which became the focus for much of the the photographer's iconic work - chose to name a new sheltered housing scheme after her. On Tuesday, March 14, at Tish Murtha House on Wolsingham Street, an exhibition of Tish's photographs, Camera In Hand - the largest display of her work in the country - will be officially opened by Ella Murtha. The day will also mark the official opening of Tish Murtha House.
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Ella said: "This feels really special. The photos are coming home to a building named after my mam by the new generation of Elswick Kids, on her birthday, March 14. It doesn't get much more meaningful than that. What an honour."
Patricia Anne Murtha was born in South Shields and grew up in Elswick. After leaving school at 16 she took a photography course at Bath Lane College in Newcastle, before receiving a grant from the council that allowed her to study Documentary Photography in Newport.
On returning to Newcastle, Tish decided to use her talents for the benefit of those living in the area where she had grown up. The time she spent building trust allowed her to take photographs that would highlight and challenge the social disadvantages people living in marginalised communities faced, while also showing their resilience, tenacity and resourcefulness. More than four decades on, her photographs remain a remarkable document of place and time, and have attracted praise attention from far beyond Newcastle's West End.
Ella said: "It's all pretty overwhelming, but I'm so proud of her and pleased that my son gets to see what her legacy means. He was only 17 months old when she died and she adored him. All I wanted was to put my mam's page in photographic history back. She always existed in it, but it had been lost - and I just couldn't let that happen."
The film, Tish, is set to be premiered later this year. Ella said: "I am fully focused on completing the documentary about my mam's life after receiving financial backing from BFI Doc Society, Screen Scotland, and BBC Arts/BBC England. Tish is directed by Paul Sng (Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche) and produced by Jennifer Corcoran through Freya Films in association with Hopscotch Films and Velvet Joy Productions. I am an executive producer and thrilled that the wonderful Maxine Peake will be the voice of my mam. She is the perfect fit. I'm really looking forward to the film festival circuit and cinematic release. I hope we do my mam proud."
Poignantly, the official opening of the exhibition Camera In Hand and the official opening of Tish Murtha House at 1pm on Tuesday will take place on what would have been Tish's 67th birthday. Ella will be joined by Dexter Murtha-Brown (Tish’s grandson), other family members, residents of Tish Murtha House who knew the photographer, representatives of Newcastle City Council, Jen Corcoran (film producer) and Hollie Galloway (cinematographer).
Following the official opening of the Tish Murtha House, the exhibition will remain in place indefinitely. As it is located in a place where people live, the exhibition will only opening to viewing by prior arrangement or on advertised open days.
It is one of three exhibitions taking place in Newcastle celebrating Tish and her work. They will focus on some of the photographer's major works – Juvenile Jazz Bands, Youth Unemployment and Elswick Kids.
Tish Murtha: The Demon Snapper will be on display in Newcastle City Library until Thursday, March 23, and will include newspaper clippings from Tish’s first exhibition, Meanwhile, Juvenile Jazz Bands. Tish Murtha: From the Inside showcases Tish’s photos of marginalised communities in Newcastle in the 1970s and '80s. This exhibition will open in Cruddas Park Library, close to where Tish took many of her photos, on Thursday, March 16, and will remain in place for several months.
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