Corporate DS/UK/479 Hackney Flashers' Collective; 1974-; Photography collective Hackney Flashers' Collective 1974- Photography collective DS/UK/474 DS/UK/478 Formed in 1974 in Hackney, London

Key projects: Women and Work (1975). A photographic exhibition of black and white prints and hand-written text making visible the huge, hidden role that women played in the economy, and making an argument for equal pay. Although it used simple ideas and basic production techniques it circulated widely and was welcomed and admired. It toured to many community venues and political events, including the 1977 Socialist Feminist International Conference in Paris. Who’s Holding the Baby (1978). The second exhibition was built on lessons learnt from producing ‘Women and Work’, and it reflected the group’s growing political and creative sophistication. Its subject matter, the lack of childcare provision available to working mothers, could not be addressed using documentary photography alone since the strength of documentary is its ability to reveal what is there. Montages, together with full-colour cartoons, were used with photographs documenting Market Nursery and its users in Hackney, East London in order to highlight the lack of childcare provision in the area and some of its effects. The twenty-nine-panel exhibition was presented on lightweight, laminated material designed to be robust and easy to hang in non-gallery settings. It was launched at Centreprise Community Centre in Kingsland Road, Hackney, London in 1978. It then went on tour to community, political and educational events and venues round the country. In 1979 it was included in, Three Perspectives on Photography at the Hayward Gallery in London.[2] This attracted controversy and some criticism from the art establishment. Domestic Labour and Visual Representation (1980). Following requests from different sources the collective produced an education pack (24 slides and a booklet) using the work of the Hackney Flashers. This was particularly intended to encourage students’ active, critical participation in the subject portrayed and also the issue of representation. Draft The Hackney Flasher's website states: 'The Hackney Flashers, a women’s photography collective, was formed in 1974 and remained active until 1980. It was started by a small group of photographers and an illustrator with the purpose of making a photography exhibition about women at work. This was part of a trade union event celebrating 75 years of union activity in Hackney, East London. 'The group eventually also included a designer, a writer and a book editor. Over time members described their individual political positions as feminist or socialist feminist. Between 1974 and 1980 the Hackney Flashers produced two exhibitions of photographs and cartoons focussing on two key areas of women’s lives: paid work, and the lack of childcare for working mothers. These exhibitions, ‘Women and Work’ (1975) and ‘Who’s Holding the Baby?’ (1978), were intended first and foremost as agitprop – to raise consciousness about the issues involved and support relevant action. They were shown in community settings like health and community centres and libraries and in political contexts such as women’s movement meetings and trade-union conferences. The Hackney Flashers collective developed within the context of the rapidly growing Women’s Liberation Movement which believed, along with the political Left, that collective action was a vital element in bringing about social and political change. 'In 1979 ‘Who’s Holding the Baby?’ was shown in the Hayward Gallery’s first photography exhibition, Three Perspectives on Photography as an example of socialist photographic practice. 'In recent years, members of the Hackney Flashers have been contacted by an increasing number of young women, and some men, researching political and cultural activism in the 1970s. Their interest reminds us that the work we produced over 40 years ago remains relevant today. Despite some advances over the decades, the need for good affordable childcare is as pressing now as it was in the 1970s. Women’s position in work has also changed very little. It created influential agitprop material in the 1970s and 1980s. The women in the group, described themselves as broadly socialist-feminist and most of them engaged in the creative media as photographers, cartoonists and writers. The Flashers productions were always published as the work of a collective. Individuals were not named; specific images or writing were never credited. This was a conscious, political decision and has led to some misunderstandings about who the members of the Hackney Flashers were, who collaborated on which projects and where the copyright for their work lies. (It lies with the collective.) 'The origins of the Hackney Flashers lie in a meeting of photographers and an illustrator called by Jo Spence and Neil Martinson (both photographers) in 1974 to discuss creating a photographic exhibition of women working in Hackney. Hackney Trades Council were organising an exhibition to celebrate their 75th anniversary. It was imperative that the contribution of working women be acknowledged in the exhibition.[3] Soon a designer and a cartoonist, a writer and an editor also joined the group. Members came from a variety of professional occupations: university teaching, community photography, freelance photojournalism and publishing; some were active trade unionists or involved in political campaigns or groups within the Women’s Liberation Movement. Early in 1975 the collective decided on the name Hackney Flashers. 'Members were: An Dekker, Sally Greenhill, Gerda Jager, Liz Heron, Michael Ann Mullen, Maggie Murray, Christine Roche, Jo Spence and Julia Vellacott. Others collaborating with them at different times were: Helen Grace, Maggie Millman, Jini Rawlings, Ruth Barrenbaum, Annette Soloman, Arlene Strasberg, Chris Treweek. Two men took part in early discussions before the collective was formed. Neil Martinson was the main contact between the group and Hackney Trades Council. Terry Dennett of Photography Workshop did not join, but was an observer at some initial meetings.' 'The aims and politics of the Hackney Flashers developed – sometimes through robust argument and dissent. Members came from differing class and political perspectives – some rooted in the left, others exploring feminism. Liz Heron wrote about this in a 1979 article, ‘Who’s still holding the camera?’[4] She also offered an explanation for why the name was adopted. Uncovering hidden work and unrecognised dynamics was part of the group’s agenda – hence Flashers – which is also a derogatory name for photographers that was waiting to be reclaimed. The group was based in the east London borough of Hackney. 'It was unusual at that time for women to be photographed at work, even more so for the photographer to be a woman. Women’s contribution to the life and prosperity of the country also went largely unrecognised. Many of the Hackney Flashers’ photographs and illustrations brought women’s work to light (in the first exhibition); and highlighted how much hardship was involved in managing both childcare and work (in the second). 'The Hackney Flashers’ work aimed to produce campaigning and educational material for use in community centres, schools, trades union events and alternative venues. Panels were displayed in town halls, health centres, at conferences, in libraries and at the Hayward Gallery (see below). In designing the second exhibition and the slide pack the group became involved with issues of representation and subverting imagery. The Flashers grappled with how to show loss and lack visually. 'The group worked in a co-operative, skill-sharing way – ‘the personal is political’ was an idea central to the activism of the time. This was a very unusual experience for women in the media, most of whom in the 1970s and 80s were hardly visible and often isolated. 'In the early 1980s the collective broke up over political differences and because some members wanted to concentrate on other projects 'Members of the collective went on to develop their own careers or move into new fields. Many carried the ethos and some of the methods of the Hackney Flashers into these areas. 'Sally Greenhill worked as a photojournalist, Liz Heron became a journalist and literary translator and is the author of fiction and non-fiction books; Michael Ann Mullen became Photography Officer at the GLC and later lectured in history of photography at Middlesex University; Maggie Murray (with Val Wilmer) set up Format Photographers – a women’s photo agency; Christine Roche continued as a cartoonist and taught in various colleges. She now paints. Jo Spence produced books and exhibitions on health and representation. She died in 1992. An Dekker left England and became a sculptor, dying in 2012. Julia Vellacott was an editor at Penguin Books, she died in 2023. 'Collaboration between some of the Flashers went on for many years. They continue to meet formally and informally. The impact of their work has been recognised internationally and an early copy of ‘Who’s Holding the Baby’ was acquired by the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid in 2010. It is now on permanent display there and features on the museum’s website." History sources from Hackney Flasher's website, https://hackneyflashers.co.uk/ Accessed May 2023 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes ual 15/05/2023 lparker 16/11/2023 61a86ae4-3021-4df3-a404-c6179de2b4c2