Exhibition - Shirley Baker: Children at Play

Occasionally the foyer area of the exhibition is closed, please check before visiting. Exhibition Opening Times: Monday - Friday 8:30am to 4pm (excluding Wednesday) Saturday 9am to 3pm - Sunday 10am to 3pm Free admission, no booking required Please visit the website for more information. Shirley Baker (1932 – 2014) was one of Britain’s compelling yet underexposed social documentary photographers.

The theme of children at play was always fascinating to Shirley. Her photos capture a time of significant upheaval and housing development in Salford and Manchester when many children were delighted by the playground of wasteland rubble and old cars to play in. Shirley’s photographs have sometimes been described as a stark record of inner-city hardship.

Her subject matter expresses her curiosity for play, maternal nurturing, women’s daily lives and human interaction which lifts her photographs above any limiting view of them as purely historical documents. This exhibition, kindly loaned by Shirley's daughter Nan Levy, is a large selection of these images, which express the joy and creativity of children at play, and the sense of community that brought people together.