Polly Braden: Holding the Baby at Arnolfini

In February 2022 Arnolfini will be sharing Holding the Baby, an exhibition of new
photographic work by artist Polly Braden, creating an intimate, participatory portrait of the strength and resilience of single parent families with the challenges they face.

Originally created by Museum of the Home, London (and curated by Sinéad McCarthy), this final instalment of the series (following shows in London and Liverpool) brings captured along the way, the Bristol version includes participants from the city, transforming national politics into a local concern.

Inspired by a United Nations report by poverty expert Philip Alston in 2019, which stated that single parents have been hardest hit by austerity measures in the UK, Braden has been working with a number of single parents over the last two years, including Fran, Jahanara, Charmaine, Aaron, Barbeline, Caroline, Gemma, Carike and their families to represent each of their stories photographically; encapsulating their sense of adventure, optimism, creativity, ambition and resilience that transcends, the often difficult, situations faced.

Their intimate stories are accompanied by revealing and tender excerpts from interviews with the women conducted by journalist Sally Williams, alongside reflective words from a wider group of single parents instigated by writer Claire-Louise Bennet, and data from statistician Rob Minto outlining the daunting reality of what it means to be a single parent in the UK today.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a pop-up version at Baraka Café in Easton, Bristol. Dates to be confirmed.

The project has collaborated with selected public institutions and partners including Museum of the Home, The Idea Store, Whitechapel; Mildmay Library, Islington, The Hive, Shropshire, Liverpool Libraries and Baraka Community Café.

The project has received funding from Arts Council England and Grain and is a part of
Behind The Door, a collaboration between Museum of the Home and the London
Homelessness Collective. It has been supported by: Gingerbread, a charity supporting single parent families to live secure, happy and fulfilling lives, offering information, support and advice about contact, maintenance and benefits.

CPAG (Child Poverty Action Group) who work on behalf of the more than one in four children in the UK growing up in poverty.

Polly Braden: Holding the Baby will be open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm each week, entry is free and will be bookable in advance via arnolfini.org.uk