Volume One

COMMUNITY EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLICATIONS BY, OF AND FOR THE PEOPLE OF WHITEHAWK, BRIGHTON

Whitehawk, Volume 1 was an exhibition of documentary photography taken by local residents Lisa Pettitt and Sharon Scaife and organised by Curtis James. 

The exhibition was the culmination of a year-long documentary process and aims to tell diverse, inside stories about Whitehawk: on death and life, housing, (extended) family and chicken pie. 

Whitehawk is an estate originally developed by Brighton Council between 1933 and 1937, and added to in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Lisa has lived in the area since 1997 and Sharon since 2009. They had no formal photography experience until a year ago. Curtis James grew up on the Bristol Estate and went to school in Whitehawk in the 1980s. 

The exhibition was free to attend and took place in the beating heart of Whitehawk, the Crew Club (started in 1999 by Lorraine and Darren Snow in response to the fatal stabbing of a 16 year-old on the Whitehawk estate). It ran from Weds 12 June to Saturday 15 June 2019.

Lisa Pettitt

Lisa Pettitt moved to Whitehawk in 1997. She is married with five children, six grandchildren, a niece and a nephew. Her family has lived in Brighton since 1981. Lisa works as housekeeping supervisor at Travelodge Brighton Seafront.

Sharon Scaife

Sharon Scaife was born in Brighton, as were her children and grandson. She has always lived and worked in the city — as a PA and project support officer for various organisations including solicitors and the NHS. She currently works as an office manager for a neuroscience research company. Sharon successfully campaigned against plans to build housing on Whitehawk Nature Reserve; in her spare time, she walks on the reserve or in Rottingdean and likes to write poetry and draw.