Going to the Dogs

I must urge anyone living close to London or travelling to the area to make a visit to a photography exhibition by Katherine Green named "Going to the Dogs" being held at Walthamstows Vestry House Museum from 26th September to 27th November. Going to the Dogs documents the last three months of Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium through photography and oral history, focusing on the people who worked at the track and contributed to its history. Katherine, who trained at Central St Martin’s, was awarded three grants towards the costs of the exhibition from Arts Council England, Apex Arts and an O2 It’s Your Community.

Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium opened in 1933 and closed last year. It was the best known and loved of all the UK’s greyhound stadiums and was well known internationally amongst both racing fans and tourists keen for a taste of British traditions. Greyhound racing is still one of the most popular spectator sports in the country and dog tracks provide a cheap and family friendly night. The Stadium was an integral part of Waltham Forest’s history and one of the area’s biggest employers. Brad Pitt and Damon Albarn are amongst the famous names who have visited over the years and the Stadium famously featured on the cover of Blur’s Parklife album.

The Stadium employed over 500 people, many of whom had spent their lives working there and the resulting series of photographs evoke a real sense of community, continuity and tradition. A newly commissioned series of audio works will be played on listening posts alongside the photographs capturing the very personal and intimate testimonies of individuals who had a particular relationship with the Stadium and providing an important record of a community.

The Vestry House Museum, Walthamstow houses all the boroughs archives and is an important centre for the study and research of local history with a dedicated exhibition space.

For those not around London the exhibition will travel to Light House, Wolverhampton in 2010.

Both images shown - (c) Katherine Green 2009