I Am Stirchley

INHABIT: A POP UP ARTS TEAROOM (1474 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham, UK)

Documenting Stirchley High Street

Working on the Inhabit project in Stirchley has been an insight in to the ups and downs of a local high street that still celebrates what was once a rich and vibrant shopping centre. Many have mentioned the word ‘survival’, some have spoken of easier times, but nearly everyone has talked about how friendly it is here. And it’s true. Shopkeepers and locals alike have opened up to tell me their stories, and welcomed photographs that record the goings on of the present day, soon to become local history. Change is in the air here. I have seen glimpses of what is to come – passionate locals intent on restoring Stirchley to its former glory, whispers of supermarkets hoping to move in, new businesses taking on the challenge, and shops closing who can battle no longer. As the Inhabit tearoom closes it’s doors forever it doesn’t feel like an end for Stirchley but instead a beginning. Conversations started in and around the tearoom that are destined to continue, and ideas and dreams that may even take root. Bromford Drive

Hybrid

Inhabit Tearoom

PHOTOGRAPHING STIRCHLEY
If you live or work in Stirchley and would like to be a part of this ongoing project to document the local High Street contact Jane. This project is independent of the Birmingham Social Centre.

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Copyright © 2011 Jane Baker. All Rights Reserved