So what’s the idea…?
We are all living in a unique time. The Coronavirus pandemic brought huge changes to our lives at home and at work, to how we all live together as part of a community, and to our mental and physical health. It continues to change the world around us.
The idea of this project is to create a shared visual archive of this period in local history covering Bridport and the surrounding area. Using photos but concentrating on our stories and our feelings, and the lives of the people in, or behind, the photos.
Who can take part?
• Everyone and anyone. It isn’t just for photographers or for writers. This project is about ALL of our lives. Everyone, young and old, has a story to tell no matter how large or small.
• We are particularly keen to engage with groups, clubs, schools, charities, businesses or other organisations so that this is a record of our existing communities.
“BRIDPORT” lockdown…? What about us in our village or on our farm or up here in Beaminster?
• Yes. You too! This project is for anyone who sees Bridport as being a part of their daily or weekly lives or who works in the area but lives elsewhere.
What sort of photos?
• Honestly… any photos. This project is for you. Your project. Your themes. Your ideas. It is based on photos but please remember that it is more about the STORIES AND THOUGHTS behind them. These times have not been easy for any of us and it is important that the photos show all sides of our lives - both good and bad.
• Think of the photos that you might see in an old family album or in a museum. Look at the photos that we have already shared. Think of the things that change. The clothes, the haircuts, the home decor, the streets and businesses and shop fronts. And the people. These are all part of our history and are changing all the time. This is a chance to record tomorrow’s history today.
A few core themes…
• the changes - masks, screens, adaptations to businesses etc.
• the creativity - at home, at work, or out and about - the ideas, innovation and adaptations making our lives easier, more bearable or more fun.
• the normality - whether you like the phrase or not…. “the new normal” is a pretty good description of how our lives are evolving due to coronavirus - the smaller details of our lives at home or at work are all interesting when we add in the stories behind them.
A few other ideas…
• Doorstep portraits – particularly if you were volunteering or just generally helping friends, relatives or neighbours who were self-isolating then we would love to see photos of them stood in their doorways and thoughts from them about their experience during the pandemic.
• Workplace portraits – local businesses and our jobs are such a huge part of our lives. Even if what we do has hardly changed due to coronavirus it is still so precious to have working life documented especially if some of our stories can also be recorded. We would love any photos you may have of the people who were behind the tills, delivering our post, collecting our bins, working beside us, or tucked away behind the scenes keeping our world turning.
• “Our dinner table / Our sofa” – you may have be on your own or with your family, at a table or in front of the TV. But chances are that when you sit down to eat you have some time to talk or think about the world. We would love you to share those thoughts and stories.
• “The early days”. This project launched on 16th April 2020 but by then we were already 1 month into this situation. So we are particularly keen to receive your photos and stories from earlier - e.g. the empty supermarket shelves or the crowds at West Bay when “social distancing” was a concept that many were taking some time to learn…
• Any photos that might be less relevant? – general landscape photos or photos of wildlife and nature. These are the elements of our lives which tend to change the least. Please don’t feel that you can’t submit these but if you do then give some thought to the words that you send in with them.
• Photos can be colour or black and white. Any format. Taken on a camera or on your phone. Please send the original photos rather than screengrabs which generally have poor image quality. But…if that is all you have…then please still send.
I can take a photo but I’m not great with words or stories. Can I still get involved?
• Absolutely. Every photo, and each of us, has a story. There are people involved in the project who really love writing. So, if your photo is right for the project, they can speak to you, or whoever is in your photo and write that story for you. Please just add a note about this when you submit your photo.
What happens at the end of all this…?
• The photos and accompanying stories will be added to the Covid-19 archive at the Dorset History Centre and at Bridport Museum. They will be a record of the most important shift that’s taking place in our society since the last world war. This collection of photos and stories will become an archive for historians of the future, in the same way that the handwritten diaries of the past, left to us by the likes of Samuel Pepys, recorded the histories that we know now of events like the Great Plague of London.
• There has been talk of a book… very much TBC but definitely there as a thought…!
How do I send in photos?
To add a photo to the Bridport Lockdown project please click here.
• ALL photos sent this way will become part of the Covid-19 archive at Dorset History Centre and Bridport Museum.
• A SELECTION of submitted photos will also be added to our Instagram page and the gallery on the project website.
• If you would like your photos to be publicly visible immediately then you can use #bridportlockdown on Instagram www.instagram.com/bridportlockdown (we monitor this hashtag daily)
• A selection of those hashtag photos will also be added to our Instagram page, to the gallery on the website and to the Covid-19 archive at the Dorset History Centre archive but ONLY once they have also been submitted via the main submission link on the website.
• We would really encourage you to send as many photos as you think might fit in with the project. The more photos the better the historical record.
I still have questions or would like to speak to you about the project. Who do I contact?
Ideally email any questions to submissions@bridportlockdown.org or, if it is a more urgent enquiry, please call Eddy on 07976 249699.
