Tag Archives: IWM North

Syria: Humanity in Conflict

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8 February – 14 September 2014, WaterWay Gallery,  IWM North

Free Entry; Donations Welcome

 ‘The reason I do it is because first and foremost I am Syrian and I can’t stand to see my people suffer.’ Hamza, Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer, December 2011

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Photographs by an award winning Syrian photographer that reveal the impact of conflict on humanitarian volunteers in the country, are being unveiled at IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, in Manchester.

 

The powerful images explore the experiences of Syrian civilians and humanitarian volunteers who place their lives on the line, almost three years since the outbreak of conflict in March 2011.

 

Created in association with the British Red Cross, this small, emotive display at v shows images by Syrian – Italian photographer Ibrahim Malla.

 

The free display features the comments of local volunteers for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), reflecting on their motivations to become a volunteer and the risks they take as they stay in Syria to respond to the current conflict and humanitarian crisis.

 

The British Red Cross and SARC are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world’s largest independent humanitarian network.

 

Malla is currently working in and around Syria for the International Federation of the Red Cross. This free display contains his most recent work. Malla has previously photographed many humanitarian crises. He has exhibited in Syria, Italy, Madrid, Paris, London, Geneva, Sydney, China, Germany and Scotland and won six international awards during his career.

 

SARC volunteers have been at the front line of the humanitarian response in Syria since fighting erupted. Many SARC staff and volunteers have been killed; many more have been injured, kidnapped or detained. Ambulances have been fired upon or in some cases stolen.

 

Across the country, thousands of SARC volunteers continue to provide essential assistance to those affected by the crisis.

 

SARC volunteers and staff are delivering a wide range of life-saving aid to almost 3 million people each month: food parcels, blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, first aid and ambulance services, fixed and mobile health clinics, psycho-social support services for children and their families, water and sanitation. They also support temporary shelters in schools, offices, and public buildings.

 

Visit www.iwm.org.uk for more information, follow @I_W_M #IWMNorth, or like facebook.com/iwm.north

 

Ibrahim Malla said: “My photos show the tragedy of the conflict with a message of hope – showing the hard job that the Red Cross and the Red Crescent volunteers are doing, always helping everybody in respect of our principle of neutrality. This is the message that I started to carry around the world, to let everybody know and see the bravery of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers. I feel this is my duty to honour my friends who sacrificed their life.”

 

Graham Boxer, Director of IWM North, said: ‘From images of aid distributions to the evacuation of 2,000 people from a besieged town in October 2013, Malla’s images portray the role, dedication and bravery of these volunteers in Syria today.’


Women and Industry in the First World War At IWM North

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New Photographic Display Outside IWM North
Launching the 2014 First World War Centenary programme at IWM North
From 18 January 2014 – Free Entry; Donations Welcome

Exploring how the First World War changed the society we live in today, a new external photographic display at IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, in Manchester, reveals images of women working in industry during the conflict.

 

As IWM builds towards a major programme of events and displays commemorating the First World War Centenary, six images by official First World War photographer G P Lewis are being unveiled in huge, 5 metre high frames, outside IWM North, on the Quays in Manchester.

George Parham Lewis, an official photographer of the home front, specialised in documenting heavy industry and photographed women workers in the glass, vehicle and food industries.

The images in the free IWM North display document women’s vital contribution to the war effort in factories across the North West of England almost 100 years ago.

 

Taken from IWM’s renowned Photographic Archive, the images were jointly commissioned by IWM and the Ministry of Information, demonstrating the wide range of roles performed by women during the First World War.

Visitors are invited to contact IWM North on Twitter @I_W_M #IWMNorth or Facebook.com/iwm.north if they recognise family members in any of GP Lewis’ photographs on display.

Graham Boxer, Director of IWM North, said: ‘The First World War was a major turning point that shaped the world we live in today, including the roles of women in society. These six powerful images depict women at work during an extraordinary time. It is a fitting start towards a major programme of exhibitions, displays and events marking the First World War Centenary at IWM North.  Later this year we will open the largest exhibition ever created exploring the role of the North West of England during the First World War.’

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The Women and Industry display opens on 18 January, while IWM North’s major exhibition marking the centenary, From Street To Trench: A War that Shaped a Region, will open on 5 April. For more information, visit www.iwm.org.uk

GP Lewis’ photographs depict the following scenes of woman and industry in the North West during the First World War:

  • Women workers in an Oil and Cake factory having tea, Lancashire, 1918. Oil cakes were used to feed cattle
  • Female worker in Charles Macintosh and Sons’ Ltd rubber factory, Manchester, 1918
  • Female glass worker carrying a tube of rolled glass at Pilkington Glass Ltd., St Helen’s, 1918. The company still exists today
  • Women workers stacking oil cakes at an Oil and Cake factory, Lancashire, 1918
  • Women working in an asbestos factory, Lancashire, 1918. Asbestos, now recognised as a dangerous material, was used in many different ways such as in buildings and enginesWomen workers operating a grain elevator at the mills of Messrs. Rank & Sons in Birkenhead, 1918