This affordable print sale supports the future of working-class photography

Since it was founded by the Amber Collective in 1977, Newcastle’s Side has shone a spotlight on working-class photography from north west England and beyond. Its accompanying archive, the UNESCO-registered AmberSide Collection, spans over 20,000 photographs and 100 films by local icons and internationally-celebrated artists alike. No surprise, then, that there was an “instant and overwhelming” outpouring of love for the gallery when it closed its doors in 2023, amid arts funding cuts and the cost of living crisis.

“Thousands of supporters told us our documentary record of working‐class life could not be allowed to fade,” says Laura Laffler, managing director of the AmberSide Trust. And so the #SaveSide campaign was born, rallying the public, charitable funds, and photographers to keep it afloat. 

Today (August 25), the campaign is taking the form of an affordable print sale, titled 50x50. Featuring big-name photographers like Sunil Gupta, Sam Taylor-Johnson and Dazed co-founder Rankin, as well as members of the Amber Film and Photography Collective including Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Richard Grassick, the sale offers a chance to get your hands on a limited-edition print for £50. Each photographer has contributed a single image that reflects the documentary ethos pioneered by Side since 1977.

“When I started taking images, I wanted to be a documentary photographer, to show the world how I saw it,” says Rankin, ahead of the sale. “But making portraits taught me what really matters to me, people. Side gives that same power to communities, it hands them the camera and says, ‘your life is worth capturing.’”

“The AmberSide Collection is an unrivalled archive of work, created through close engagement with the people of Newcastle and the wider region,” adds documentary photographer Daniel Meadows, naming the likes of Chris Killip, Izabela Jedrzejczyk, Markéta Luskačová and Graham Smith for their inclusion in its story so far. “I am lucky to have some of my own photographs in the collection,” he adds, “and I am proud to be part of supporting its future.”

For Side’s creative director, Ellen Stone, the sale offers a chance to turn the community’s enthusiasm toward the gallery and its collection into practical support. As Stone says: “Side has endured because people believed that documentary photography, and working-class narratives matter.” With a little luck (and a lot of great photographs) that belief will endure for years to come.

The 50x50 sale opens exclusively in Side Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, from August 22 to 25. An online release will be available on August 25, via the gallery’s website.