East Manchester 2004-
For the 50 years until the 1970s east Manchester was a manufacturing powerhouse: engines, chemicals, machinery, pumps, aircraft. Jobs were plentiful. The place teemed with people. Pubs were on every street corner.
But the decline was slow and deep. Revival attempts came and went, until, at the end of the 1990s, the ten-year New Deal for Communities programme was established, followed by the creation of regeneration company, New East Manchester Ltd.
Since 2004 I have been commissioned by these regeneration agencies to document the reversal of the area's fortunes.
Between 2005-2009 I produced ten issues of the 28-page, large format East magazine with images and articles covering housing, the local environment, health, community issues, and jobs.
In October 2005, a spread from the first issue of East won the ‘Best Use of Image’ Award at the 2005 SUN [Shot Up North] Awards. In March 2008, East won the magazine category in the McNaughton Design and Print Awards and in 2009 was again shortlisted in the media category of the NW Business Environment Awards.
East is designed by Axis Graphic Design
The magazine is now online at thisiseast.com, with slideshows, short films and articles, as I continue to document the progress of this people-centred regeneration initiative.