Colin potsig
The Armitt is proud to present the portraits of Colin Potsig’s ‘Club Culture Cumbria’ series. The exhibition incorporates Colin’s photography alongside archival material to show the significance of Cumbrian communal spaces both today and in the past.
Colin’s stunning black and white portraiture reveals the faces of Social Club members across 10 different Cumbrian Social Clubs. The portraits reveal the characters of these clubs; from the lived-in faces of men and women carrying memories of a dying era of pits, quarries and agriculture, to younger faces, of people seeking cheap beer, warmth and sanctuary in today’s tough times.
The Armitt has collected an accompanying display of objects, each charged with their own stories and significance, to accompany the photographic display. Blending current and past histories together, our exhibition spotlights community spaces across modern Cumbrian history and cements their importance to their local communities.
THE HISTORY OF THE MECHANICS’ INSTITUTES
Mechanics’ Institutes were communal spaces founded in the 1800s following the industrial revolution, to provide a better-educated (and skilled) workforce. Cumbria’s first recorded Mechanics’ Institute opened in Carlisle in 1824, the following 20-30 years seeing Mechanics’ Institutes springing up around key industrial Cumbrian towns, especially along the West Cumbrian Coast. Many smaller towns and villages in central Cumbria would also welcome Mechanics’ Institutes into their communities as central hubs for education, bringing with them reading rooms and libraries alongside a range of classes and lectures.
Although the Mechanics’ Institute would fade across the country, many of the Institutes in Cumbria would leave behind collections of books and educational material, as well as venues that would become town halls or new libraries for these small communities. The former Ambleside Mechanics’ Institute and the Coniston Institute buildings are good examples of the Victorian architecture that would become synonymous with these communal and educational spaces.
THE HISTORY OF SOCIAL CLUBS
The Working Club (or social club) was developed as a social hub for the working classes, a communal space to wind down after a long day’s work. The first recorded club opened in Reddish (near Manchester) in 1857, and the subsequent opening of clubs across the country would place communal activities at the centre of industrial communities. They were places for hobbies to be pursued, games to be played, drinks to be consumed responsibly, and most importantly, they provided space for a community to come together.
The establishment of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union (1862) gave structure to clubs across the country, giving a membership scheme that granted access nationwide. Life within these social clubs was bustling with life; clubs hosted musical and theatrical events to both entertain and inspire. These spaces became part of daily life, a second home for some and a part of social life for many more.
