Charity shows its work in new photographic exhibition

Tuesday, 17 June 2025 16:55

Charlie Swinbourne has produced photographs for the exhibition highlighting its clients and volunteers

A new photography exhibition called 'Lifted' will mark the culmination of the 50th anniversary year of Ilkley and District Good Neighbours by showcasing how the charity supports older and more vulnerable people in the local community.

The charity worked with local photographer Charlie Swinbourne who produced twelve photographs portraying the different projects of the charity, highlighting its clients and volunteers.

The photographs, taken over the last six months, will be exhibited in the Hub Café Gallery at the Clarke Foley Community Hub in Ilkley from 2nd July. The exhibition will also be on display at Ilkley Manor House during August and September and later this year at Ilkley Playhouse.

“Lifted has become an important project for the charity as we work to become synonymous with ageing positively in Ilkley”

said project coordinator Charlotte Atkinson.

“Our volunteers, supported by the staff and trustee team, see on a daily basis the real difference their support can make. This exhibition gives us an opportunity to share that with the wider community. Working with Charlie has been a great experience and also enormous fun.”

[Photographer Charlie Swinbourne]

To show the range of the charity’s work, Charlie visited the social and dementia wellbeing groups, photographing clients socialising together. He also saw clients at home to capture Befriending partnerships, as well as going to Booths and Tesco to photograph the Shop Assist Scheme where volunteers take clients shopping every week.

“It was a real privilege to be welcomed into this groups and into people’s homes to take my photographs”

said Charlie.

“I found everyone incredibly warm and encouraging, and I was struck by how these clients and volunteers are often quite invisible from wider society. I hope these portraits make more of us aware of them, because I feel they are really special people.”

Charlie started a new career in photography last year after achieving success as a scriptwriter and director, winning BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards writing for his own shows and BBC dramas such as Waterloo Road and Casualty. In 2023 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his work with deaf people and the media.

[Photographer Charlie Swinbourne at work!]

Being partially deaf, and growing up in a visual world of lip-reading and sign language, Charlie’s photography has a focus on capturing faces, body language, and the connections between people. Lifted will be his first public exhibition, working with local curator Andreea Chitan, and it will also form part of the first photoILKLEY Festival.

Charlie added:

“Deaf people often give one another sign names, which link to the interest they have.

“For years my sign name was ‘photo.’ However being busy with my writing and a young family I rarely picked up a camera. So returning to photography has felt a bit like finding a part of my identity again. I’m loving my new journey and hope to do more community projects like this one in the future.”

If you want to help Ilkley Good Neighbours with a donation you can do this online by getting information at www.goodneighbours.org.uk/donate