Corner Shop exhibition to remember the art of retailing

Corner Shop exhibition to remember the art of retailing

A photography exhibition featuring images of shops and their owners from the 1970s and 80s opens in Belfast this week.

Corner Shop by Bill Kirk holds its opening night this Thursday August 6 from 6 to 9pm, and also features on the Late Night Art bus tour.

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One of Bill Kirk’s fascinating images

BK_scan355_FinalOver 40 years ago, the local photographer worked on a project to record the many corner shops peppering the terraced streets of Belfast and his hometown of Newtownards.

This selection of 40 images remembers the time of the independent, family-run businesses that became the hub community life, providing employment, a meeting place for locals, and everything from meat and baps to newspapers and shoes.

It also documents the salesmanship of the time, and recalls the days when four ounces of Nescafe cost 35 pence, while 75p would get you a ‘good quality filled pillow’.

The rise of out-of-town shopping centres has put the corner shop under enormous strain, but these images have cast a long-faded light on the contribution made by community shopkeepers in the past.

*All images copyright Bill Kirk/Red Barn Archive.