Cheetham Hill Road in North Manchester is one of the most diverse areas in Britain, with almost half of all residents speaking English as a second or other language.
Around 150 different languages alone can be heard in this one address. But what do the people who live, work and play here look like? What makes them different and what do they have in common?
These are the questions being asked and answered in a thought-provoking new photographic exhibition – Cheetham Hill Road: A People Panorama commissioned by Manchester Jewish Museum (MJM) where it opens from Sunday 20 March. The exhibition is being supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, who last year awarded the museum £426,900 to progress their plans for a major development project.
Over the past three months, Manchester based photographer Jan Chlebik has immersed himself in the local communities, businesses, places of worship and schools which make up the multi-cultural mecca that is Cheetham Hill Road. The result is 28 stunning, vibrant and eclectic panoramic images – featuring hundreds of people of all ages, walks of life and backgrounds – visually bringing to live and truly celebrating diversity.
One image alone of children at Temple Primary School – at one time attended by mainly Jewish children now represents 25 different nationalities, whilst the image of Abraham Moss Community School illustrates a place of learning where over 63 different languages are spoken on any given school day. In addition, are shots of worshippers and staff at Manchester Central Gurdwara next to one of Higher Broughton and Higher Crumpsall Synagogue .
Built in 1928 and once one of many synagogues in the area, now this remains the only one. An image of Cheetham Hill Welcome Centre – a community and advice centre offering computer and language classes, meals and lessons to all who live around the area – sits alongside one of Predators MMA Gym – a mixed martial arts and cage fighting gym and one of St Chad’s Church.
This is the oldest Catholic church in Manchester, built in 1846 and now home to a community of oratorians led by Father Ray Matus – whose father was born Jewish. Workers at Victoria Station are also photographed for this exhibition. Situated at one end of Cheetham Hill Road – it is symbolic that so many of these communities would have first arrived here when they came to live in Manchester.
The panoramic nature of these photographs ensures that everybody in them is seen clearly, and most importantly equally. When hung on the walls of MJM from mid March, not only will this exhibition represent and literally illustrate how these communities fit, stand and belong side by side and together. But most importantly it acts as an invitation to these and all people to step through the doors and see themselves represented in the heart of Manchester’s Jewish Museum – a space, a venue and a cultural centre for everybody – regardless of faith, colour, race gender, age and nationality.
CEO of Manchester Jewish Museum, Max Dunbar comments: “This project, which has been realised with thanks to and financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, is all about breaking down the barriers that have stopped people from engaging with and visiting our museum. What better way to do that, than by exhibiting those individuals in the museum and inviting them to be a part of it, in the very fabric of the building. This is just the start of a long term plan which we very much hope will see us working often and closely with the local community in new and exciting ways leading up to the opening of our bigger and refurbished Manchester Jewish Museum in 2019 and beyond. Together with the community we serve, we aim to build a new, inspirational Jewish museum that is relevant for the changing multicultural world we live in.”
Frankie Mullen Co-Founder of A People Panorama comments: “The people panorama is a new kind of map for the 21st century social landscape. We wanted to create a concept in which everyone is the art, everyone is the audience and everyone is equal. Collaborating with Manchester Jewish Museum and the eclectic mix of people who live and work around it, has really enabled us to realise this ambition and bring out the extra-ordinary from the ordinary.”
Cheetham Hill Road: A People Panorama opens to the public on Monday 21 March, with a Press View and community opening on Sunday 20 March from 12pm.
