Primary schoolchildren’s photographs of local area go on display in Hackney

Nefise Hussein (far left) with Berger Street pupils, head teacher, Meg Hiller MP & Cllr Ian Rathbone

CULTURE / PHOTOGRAPHY

An exhibition of photographs taken by children aged 9 to 11 at a Hackney school opens today at Hackney Central Library. Local MP Meg Hiller will be the keynote speaker at this afternoon’s private viewing, which will be attended by school pupils and teachers from Berger School, along with parents and the local traders from nearby Well Street who were photographed as part of Berger’s after school student photography club. The exhibition will then be open to the public for the next week.

Berger (Primary) School’s Well Street E9 Photographic Project started as a pilot project in September 2012 by Nefise Hussein. The professional photographer has run Berger’s after school club photography club since 2009. She decided to create a specific project which would enable children in years 5 and 6 to learn about photography and develop photographic skills, as well as learning about their local community and the people in it.

Well Street is located in Hackney E9, in the East End of London, a street very close to the school and with a rich history that dates back to the early 19th century. The street used to have a market, which started in the 1850s, where the founder of Tesco supermarket, Jack Cohen opened his first stall. While the market has ceased, the street continues to be home to many interesting and diverse shops and traders with long-established businesses, alongside new shops that are opening up, collectively adding to the area’s vibrancy and economic growth.

The children involved in the project, aged between 9-11 years old, have been specifically learning how to produce photographic portraits of people who either work, trade or own businesses on Well Street. It is one of the first school/commerce partnerships in Hackney, and is supported by Councillor Ian Rathbone, who is the Secretary of WESTRA (Well Street Traders & Residents Association). Cllr Rathbone has been working collaboratively with Nefise on the project since it began and has been the link between the school and traders participating on the project.

The shops involved in the project to date include:

§         Karin Janssen Project Space

§         A.G Price Florist

§         Ace Pet Supplies

§         Perlie Rides Bike Shop

§         TJ’s Hair Salon

§         Blanks Wallpapers & DIY

§         Rekindled Clothing Boutique

§         Nazar Restaurant

§         The Gun Public House

§         E9 Café

§         Well Street Fish & Chip Shop (no.218)

The excellent photos by Berger pupils will be on display at the Hackney Central Library until Thursday 12 June. The exhibition is free and open to all during regular library hours.

Exhibition dates: Thursday 05 – Thursday 12 June 2014

Venue address: Hackney Central Library, 1st Floor Library, 1 Reading Lane, London E8 1GQ

Opening times: library opening hours

Entry: FREE

More information about Berger School’sWell StreetE9 Photography Project 

For library opening hours: Hackney Central Library

Related articles: A Picture Says a Thousand Words, 27 August 2013