This week the second stage of hidden hardship fieldwork is starting.
So far I’ve been attending local community gatherings in a rural town and village in the North Cotswolds to meet local people and to hear about their experiences of hardship, and/or of responding to hardship. Some of the these gatherings have been targeted hardship responses such as the foodbank, whereas others have been more general community groups such as a toddler group where there’s a mix of people attending. At the gatherings I’ve spoken to people informally, and then also audio recorded interviews with people on their experiences of hardship and/or of responding to hardship in the North Cotswolds.
For the second stage of hidden hardship fieldwork I’ll be working more closely with four households in the North Cotswolds who are experiencing hardship. Each household will keep a diary for a month about their experiences of hardship, and then I’ll carry out three go-along interviews with each household – a conversational audio recorded interview as we go about an activity in their daily life.
Altogether, the interviews, diaries, and go-along interviews will build up a picture and understanding of what it is like to experience hardship in the North Cotswolds. Later this year I’ll be working with the illustrator Beth Waters with interview and diary extracts for illustrations that will form a travelling exhibition that will be featured in Coventry Cathedral in early 2024 – more details to follow in due course.
