What does working class mean to you?
Take a look at how artist Lizzie Lovejoy explores working class identities
By Arts Council England
Story curated by ARC Stockton
An Artist of Change
In 2020 Lizzie Lovejoy took up a year-long position at ARC after responding to their callout for an Artist of Change - an artist from a working-class background who would embed themselves across the organisation, with a brief to create work with and for the local community.
Working class identity in the North
Many people in the North of England feel deeply connected to their working class identity and alongside explorations of family and home, Lizzie spent their year-long position at ARC exploring what that working class identity means across local communities.
Working class art piece nine (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
Adapting to prevailing conditions
Often roles that can be thought of as traditional working class jobs are still an important source of livelihood for their communities. The impact of environmental factors can mean challenges for many, such as fishermen travelling further out to sea to catch their fish.
Working class art piece four (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
Losing more than just a job
Where industries decline to the point they can no longer survive, the sense of loss in working class communities can be powerful and profound. For those whose families have followed in one another's footsteps for many generations, this can represent the loss of a way of life.
Working class art piece thirteen (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
For communities in Teesside the loss of the steelworks, once a behemoth with over 90 blast furnaces in a 10-mile radius, was a painful blow. The Redcar site pictured here once housed the second largest blast furnace in Europe, a point of pride for many who worked there.
Builder (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
What you do for a job matters
While working class identity is far more complex than a reflection of people's work lives, the types of roles undertaken by many working class people is an important part of how their identity and sense of belonging to their community is formed.
Baker (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
Not just a job
For many working class people what they do for work is a source of pride, not just from the labour they supply, but also the important goods and services they provide in their communities.
Working class spaces are more than just workplaces
A theme that emerged from Lizzie's engagement with communities was the key place libraries hold for many working class people as places of education and learning, as well as meaningful community spaces that are more than just a place to read books.
Darlington Library (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
The loss of libraries was felt by working class communities
A Guardian article in 2019 revealed that almost 800 libraries had closed across Britain since 2010. Many working class people Lizzie listened to felt strongly about the libraries they had lost. Many had fond memories of learning to read in their local library.
Bishop Auckland Town Hall Library (2021) by Lizzie LovejoyArts Council England
Bishop Aukland Town Hall - Saved by it's community
First opened in 1862, by the 1980s it was abandoned and scheduled for demolition. The local community fought to save the building, and so it reopened in the 90s when a public library and art gallery were included in the space.
Working class culture isn't simply about people's jobs
While the industries and jobs of working class communities inform a core part of their identity, a number of other factors such as shared places, and access to community facilities also play an important role in defining the working class experience and identity.
Adam filming Lizzie Lovejoy as part of the internship by Adam McLeanArts Council England
A Change of Perspective
Lizzie's illustrations represent the personal response of a working-class creative, firmly rooted in the North East, who combines the roles of storyteller, reportage artist and creative researcher within their practice.
Artwork by Lizzie Lovejoy. This story was curated by ARC Stockton as part of Arts Council England's Northern Stories collection.
Explore Lizzie's work understanding what home means to Northern communities.
Discover Lizzie's work exploring the meaning of family in Northern communities.
