The Village
2018 - 19
Fascinated by the resilience of small shops and businesses in Langley in Oldbury, still known affectionately by locals as Langley Village. The shops here - along with their keepers - make a considerable, yet often overlooked contribution to the economy of the area. Yet this is a time when the demise of the high street is rarely out of the news; only recently, the Office for National Statistics reported a total of 1,772 stores disappeared from the UK’s town centres over the last year - almost five closing every day. The impression is of a town which simply houses the local Sainsbury’s or the Council House. Kate has documented local shops in Langley, engaging with the people who operate them. The project is a portrait of this small high street, part of the bigger town of Oldbury, itself one of the six towns of Sandwell.
This commission is part of the Forge Artist Open Call Programme which invited 12 West Midlands artists and curators to make new bodies of work for the Blast! Festival run by Multistory.
See the exhibition
WHEN
24.05.2019 – 29.06.2019
Opening times:
Fri: 9:30AM - 3PM
WHERE
Langley Park Lodge, Langley High St, B69 4SL
