Two people wearing brightly coloured dresses and glasses laugh hysterically together. One of them holds a lime green shoe and behind them is a rack of clothes and shoes.

Old Stock New Stock

A series of ambitious photographic artworks that confront perceptions of ageing and retirement

Sughrah, an elder South Asian woman, stands holding a rolling pin with her arms crossed. She's wearing a white headscarf and glasses. In front of her are a pile of treats she has baked.

Shamim, an elder South Asian woman, has two knitting needles on her back like ninja swords. Her front is covered in knitted balls. She's wearing a colourful saree and headscarf.

Nasim, an elder South Asian woman, is dressed in all white and stood dancing in front of a glittery curtain. She's wearing a gold glittery hat.

Mliha, an elder South Asian woman, is surrounded by balls of wool - her head hidden in the centre with a cheeky smile.

Farida, an elder South Asian woman, is stood looking dignified and holding a painting palette covered in spices. There are herbs and spices on the table in front of her and she's using a vegetable as a paintbrush. The background is covered in splashes of herbs and bright colours.

Emily, a white elder woman with punky bright pink hair is holding a giant to do list and pencil - behind her is a whole wall made up of sticky notes.

Denise, a white elder woman with white hair is stood on the telephone with a mug and pencil. Behind her is a wall of sticky notes.

Rehena, an elder South Asian woman, is wearing a knitted cardigan and a golden headscarf

Balqis, an elder South Asian woman, is wearing a bright blue saree and an apron, in front of her is a table with flower on it and a big pile of homemade chapatis. She is throwing one of them into the air.

Old Stock New Stock is an ongoing photography project which combats the stereotypical imagery of older people and retirement in stock photography. The project is a collaboration between Art with Heart and photographer Joe Smith.

Old Stock New Stock started back in 2018, as part of The Golden Years’ Caravan, a roving cinema and art gallery that celebrated the curiosity, creativity and culture of Greater Manchester’s older generation. The Golden Years’ Caravan travelled all over Greater Manchester, reaching 1,067 visitors and engaged 68 elders as creative collaborators.

Fade away? Not likely!

During lockdown we saw older people reduced to negative numbers and throwaway figures; from the treatment of older people in care homes, to their increased isolation and lack of connectivity. Eager to offer support, we paired 25 elders with 5 Greater Manchester artists as part of Dial – a phone based project connecting elders through creative conversations. Over 150 hours of conversation took place between our creative collective, and during that time they laughed together, sang together, drew portraits, wrote poems, talked politics and pandemics, shared life stories and recipes, created maps and imagined fantasy lands together.

The elders expressed their joy at having a creative outlet and as a result we invited several of the Dial Collective to become our next Old Stock New Stock subjects and collaborators. Together, with photographer Joe Oli Smith and facilitator Chelsea Morgan, we developed a series of portraits that showcased their interests and challenged society’s perception of life in old age. From engineering experts, to daring DJs and poignant poets, meet our collaborators and their fascinating lives!

Now exhibiting at Swinton Gateway

Old Stock New Stock is back, with all our lockdown portraits in one place for the very first time at Swinton Gateway.

This exhibition has been made possible by the generous support of the GMCA. The exhibition is supported by a grant through Salford CVS in partnership with Salford Council to deliver a new creative commission funded through the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund via the GMCA.

'Old Stock New Stock' on top of a photo of two women laughing

Old Stock New Stock portraits

After taking doorstep portraits of each of our collaborators, facilitator Chelsea and photographer Joe ran workshops with each individual. This was an opportunity to find out all about their lives, the things they loved – and to get to know them a little better. From activism right the way through to Western films, there were a whole lot of fascinating subjects to choose from.
Joe then created concepts for each collaborator, and once they were approved, it was time to whip the camera out ready to shoot!

Glyn is juggling five images of his face. The images show different expressions - smiling, wearing a face mask, a mean look, a regal look and a sad face.

The Man with A Thousand Faces, Glyn

Mean, moody and magnificent, Glyn is the Man with a Thousand Faces. Inspired by Western Movies, Glyn’s imaginative portrait portrays the ever-changing emotions he’s felt throughout lockdown.

Tied together with cinematic flair, Glyn relished the opportunity to show off his creativity. Glyn has a kind presence that made him a joy to photograph. He’s hugely creative and a member of the Royal Exchange Elders, so we weren’t surprised when he came to us with the most ambitious idea of the project!

Click here to listen to an audio description of Glyn's portrait

Two women, one with short blonde hair, one with short brown hair are wearing brightly coloured dresses and glasses laugh hysterically together. One of them holds a lime green shoe and behind them is a rack of clothes and shoes.

Charity Shop Hot-Shots, Janet & Cindy

Experienced charity shop enthusiasts, Janet and Cindy can take any garment and create a fabulous friendship fashion show! An energetic whirlwind of fun, these two friends met just a couple of years ago, and their buzzing, mischievous relationship makes you want to join in with them.

Click here to listen to an audio description of Janet and Cindy's portrait

A white man with silver grey hair and a silver grey moustache. He is smiling, looking ready to throw the white and red rugby ball he holds. He is wearing a red and white striped rugby top.

Rapscallion of Rugby, Barry

Barry and Brenda are the first ever married couple to frequent the Old Stock New Stock studio!

Click here to listen to an audio description of Barry's portrait

A white woman with short silver grey hair. She is wearing galsses and she is smiling off in the distance. Over her clothes, she is wearing a red apron that has paint splattered all over it. She is holding three paint brushes in her hands.

Brandishing her Brushes, Brenda

Brenda and Barry spend a lot of their time travelling over to their caravan – and have revealed to us that if they ever won the lottery, they’ll be packing up for a family holiday to Australia. Generous and charitable, they’re a joy to be around.

Click here to listen to an audio description of Brenda's portrait

Jagruti is a British asian woman. She is wearing a green and red sari underneath a white lab coat. She is standing behind a desk that is covered with engineering equipment.

Engineering Expert, Jagruti

A trailblazer back in the 70s, Jagruti wanted to show that women do work in STEM – and that anyone can give it a go. Alongside her impressive career, Jagruti is a key member of her Hindu temple’s community, where she loves to encourage others to try new things. She’s super close to her husband, and the abundance of love and admiration they have for each together is inspirational. Always looking for something to sink her teeth into, Jagruti doesn’t like to sit still – and right now she’s retraining to be a teacher!

Click here to listen to an audio description of Jagruti's portrait

A portrait of a person who holds a placard reading Chorley CND, fight war, not wars. They are holding up two fingers in the peace sign and have placards at their feet that read Old? Me Neither and Stop the Cuts.

Planting Seeds of Change, Lesley

Planting seeds of hope and change is what Lesley’s good at, attending protests for many years and still owning signs from the 80s. Passionate and powerful, Lesley wants to change the world for the better, and always shares her knowledge in a down to earth and accessible way – planting politics into every day chat. Lesley’s also passionate about canvassing and volunteering. She knows who she is, what she wants, and how she wants the world to be: a fairer place for everyone.

A white man with silver grey hair and a silver grey beard is sitting at a sound desk. He is wearing a pair of headphones over his ears and sits in front of a microphone.

Adventurous Announcer, John

DJ John has returned behind the decks to tell us all about his passion for important broadcast announcements. John has over thirty years’ experience as a broadcaster, so he’s super interested in all things live and instant. He loves interruptive broadcasts – and his favourite breaking news story was one that interrupted a world cup final. We were challenged by John when practising our debating skills together – he’s super skilled at reacting and responding quickly to topical news. Outside of broadcast, John loves Manchester City, cricket, and music.

Click here to listen to an audio description of John's portrait

Pauline is looking down smiling as she writes in a small notebook. Behind her are pink and purple flowers. Pauline is a trans woman wearing a green dress with flowers on it, she has short silver hair

Wordsmith & Worldweaver, Pauline

Poet Pauline has been sharing her wonderful words throughout lockdown, a new passion that we’re so pleased she discovered– because she’s fantastic at it! She tells the stories of her experiences as a trans woman, of lockdown, and of our place: Manchester. Pauline has lived all over Europe, spending many years in the Netherlands before returning to Manchester. She has a son, who she’s incredibly proud of. When you speak to Pauline, she’s always chocka-block with wisdom and advice and perfect for a good deep chat.

Click here to listen to an audio description of Pauline's portrait

Reclaiming ownership of Greater Manchester

Portraits at the ready, we partnered with venues that mattered to elders throughout Greater Manchester and asked if they’d display their portraits. This gave us the opportunity to bring elders right into the forefront following the pandemic.

Each portrait was displayed with a QR code that led to the website, an audio description of the portrait and additional content created by our collaborators and partners.

Venues

Cadishead Public Band Community Hall
Radcliffe Library
East Oldham Methodist Church
Gallery Oldham
Eccles Train Station
Eccles Library

In a studio space with white walls, a photographer takes a picture of a woman wearing a white lab coat.

Bonus content

Alongside each portrait, our collaborators and partners shared their creativity with us – giving us the chance to compose a theme tune especially for Glyn, interview Jagruti about her career and even put together a poetry pamphlet for Pauline.

A photographer holds out their camera, while a person in t-shirt printed with starry skies leans in and looks on.

Glyn’s theme tune

We’re honoured that Cadishead Public Band, based in Irlam, recorded us a very special theme tune for Glyn, taken from Wild West! The Best of Ennio Morrcicone. Have a listen to the fantastic arrangement below.

Listen here

Two people stand next to each other in a charity shop. Together, they are smiling and holding up a large multicoloured patchwork fabric.

Charity shop cheat sheet

Charity shop pro Janet has put together her Salford shop recommendations for anyone eager for a bargain.

Visit the recommendations

A person with grey hair studies at a digital screen showing photographs just taken of them, as the photographer looks on.

Brenda’s drawing of Barry

Brenda and Barry’s relationship is quite a special one, and they’ve shared some bits and pieces with us to show their love for each other. Have a look at Brenda’s drawing of Barry.

Look at Brenda's drawing

A person with grey hair poses in a photographers' studio. They are wearing a red and white striped sports kit and holding a rugby ball, while a photographer takes their picture.

Barry’s love letter

Quite the romantic, we loved Barry’s poem all about Brenda and her blue eyes.

Read Barry's poem

Jagruti and photographer Joe set-up engineering equipment on the set of a photoshoot.

Jagruti’s incredible career interview

We sat down with Jagruti to discuss her fascinating career in engineering.

Listen to the interview

A person sits at a sound desk in a recording studio. They are behind a microphone and wearing headphones.

John’s passion for pirate radio

Listen to our interview with John, where he speaks about his passion for radio and shares his favourite moment in broadcast history.

Listen to the interview

A person with grey hair sits on a park bench, surrounded by green grass and tall trees. A photographer crouches to take their picture.

Pauline’s poetry pamphlet

We’ve been lucky enough to read some of Pauline’s fantastic poems, and we couldn’t help but imagine what they would be like as part of a collection.

Read Pauline's poetry

Creative credits

Old Stock New Stock: Conceived and Curated by Art with Heart

Associate Producer: Megan Holland

Photography Exhibition by Joe Smith, facilitator Chelsea Morgan, and collaborators from Dial

Branding: Studio Baba

Audio descriptions: Elizabeth Wainwright

Funders & partners

Old Stock New Stock has been made possible by the generous support of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

With special thanks to: Reform Radio, The Naz, Eccles Library, Cadishead Public Band Hall, Freccles, Radcliffe Library, Gallery Oldham, East Oldham Methodist Church and Sarah Spencer.