We are Wolverhampton
a portrait of a city.
This is a portrait of Wolverhampton through its people. It has been a privilege to photograph these individuals and I have included extracts of conversations we had about what the city means to them.
The goal is to celebrate the city and its people. I want to recognise what we have in common and understand the differences in people’s perspectives. I hope that in a small way it will encourage more dialogue and understanding in the city. To quote one of the participants “We’re not pretentious, we’re real and you can just connect with people straight away”. I want to connect in this way.
What does Wolverhampton mean to you? Please feel free to get in touch.
Kanj​
“I was born in Sri Lanka and came to the UK about 30 years ago. I’ve lived in Wolverhampton for over 20 years, it’s the place where I feel like I grew from an acorn into an oak. I am like a tree with roots in two different places. When I go to Sri Lanka it feels like going home, but then when I return it feels like coming back home.
We all need people around us, we need that support from the right people, we need to find our tribe. I found that in Wolverhampton, I don’t know if I could find it anywhere else. Wolverhampton is the place where people really know who I am.”
Simon
“Wolverhampton, it’s not perfect by any means but I think it’s more perfect than lots of other places I could think of, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Obaida ​​​
“We are a tight knit community, it’s a place where if you need some help someone will always be there for you, that’s the experience I’ve had.
I was born in Wolverhampton, lived here all my life. So my parents used to own a corner shop opposite the Molineaux, so we had a shop right in the heart of the community. We went to school locally, went to Mosque locally, everyone knew everyone, it was a really tight community."
Simon ​​​
"Wolverhampton is my birth place and what I call home and as the saying goes 'home is where the heart is'.
Victoria
“It’s an interesting place, and there are places that you can go, and you meet interesting people as well.”
Nataliya ​​
"My name is Nataliya, I came to Wolverhampton 20 years ago from the Ukraine.
Wolverhampton is the place where I become an artist. The Art Gallery is one of my favourite places to visit. I proudly call myself an artist from Wolverhampton.
I like my town and I can see there is a slow positive movement to make it a better place for everyone.
I still hope for the best for my town."
​​​
UKIM Madina Masjid &
Islamic Centre
Thank you to the individuals here for being so generous with their time. I felt welcomed and as well as allowing me to take some photographs, we had a really interesting conversation about our respective faiths.
Shown here are: Imam AbuBakar Bashir, Imam Atta Muhammad, Abrar and Khalid.
Caty
I see a sense of community. It’s really friendly, it’s full of people who help each other no matter where they come from.”
Iqra ​​​
“Wolverhampton is close to my heart, I grew up here, I would never want to go anywhere else”
Olly
“I can remember Beatties as a very young child. The chap on the door, when I tried to walk through said ‘excuse me, manners please’ and I had to say ‘thank you’ because he’d tipped his hat and opened the door for me.
When I was a bit older I saw some great bands, I had some fantastic evenings watching bands. I mean you couldn’t move in Wolverhampton for live music.”
St Chad & St Marks
I visited St Chad & St Marks over a couple of Sundays to take some photographs. It has a wonderful sense of warmth and inclusivity and they made me feel very welcome.
The individuals shown here are: Ray, Dila, Chris, Stephen, Sajad and Omid.
%20-%201500px.jpg)
%20%20Omid%20(right)%20-%201500px.jpg)
Kom
“What I love about Wolverhampton people is that everyone wears their heart on their sleeve, we’re not pretentious, we’re real and you can just connect with people straight away, I really love that.”
Julia
"I've been a Wolves supporter all my life and there's no greater feeling than the city coming alive on match day.
I love how multi cultural the city is, and its friendly people, and as a photographer I love capturing its historical buildings.
I'm always delighted to say to people that Wolverhampton is a Proud Fairtrade Community."
Debbie ​
Wolverhampton seems like a town that is "feeling a little bit sorry for itself".
​
Debbie is an artist who developed a passion for washing lines in art during the Covid lockdown, so we really had to include one in the photo! ​​​​
Garry
“Newhampton Arts Centre is possibly now my favourite venue for taking music photographs, they have a good stage, good lighting, great sound, great people.”
Moya
“It’s a lively city, people are very friendly, and there’s a lot of things going on, but sometimes they’re a bit under the surface, I love it’s diversity.”
Graham
“Wolverhampton is my home. Since I moved here about ten years ago it’s become the source of inspiration for much of my creativity.”
