Frederick Street, Laygate, South Shields

The photographs of shops in Laygate and Frederick Street, South Shields look at the diverse cultural make up of this area. The shops and businesses here are part of the community, within which they exist, reflecting the economic make up of the locality. However, they are also more than a retail service where goods are bought and sold, they are spaces for conversation, friendships, debate and the exchange of ideas. You cannot just see Frederick Street solely as a group of small retail outlets, it is a place of gatherings, of thoughts and aspirations fulfilled through the cross over of social and cultural identities.

The whole area and in particular Frederick street has a long and culturally diverse history due to its proximity with the River Tyne and its docks. This is a vibrant area consisting of indigenous north-easterners, a log established Yemeni community—who were once migrants but now includes second and third generation British citizens as well as people from Somalia, Angola, Bangladesh, the Congo, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine and Poland. In the end it is the people who create a community and its identity.

Mohammed Salah, 

Ian

Morteza, Vape Shop

Val, 'Valonia Tattoo'

Micky

Noreen, "loaves and Fishes'

Ramin and Mohammad

Ibrahim and Jamal

Ibrahim and Jamal

Bill, 'Steam Punk and Pine'

Mansour, 'Zam Zams'

Joy, 'Seam and Sew'

John, 'Seam and  Sew'

Gordon

Paddy, 'Paddy's Carpets'

Micky

Paddy

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