People of the Hop Harvest

An exhibition by Paul Ligas, with photography by Paul Ligas and poetry by Sara-Jane Arbury and Beth Calverley.

About Paul Ligas

Paul Ligas is a photographer and photographic artist in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Born and raised in southern Ontario, Canada, his ancestors were all immigrants to Canada in the 19th and early 20th centuries from Poland and Germany. He moved to the UK in the 1990s, so is an immigrant himself.

Growing up in a multicultural society he considered equality for all simply a given; now he knows it's something that needs to be fought for. He believes in doing what he can to keep his community vibrant, to support those experiencing disadvantage, and to make the world a better place starting with where he lives.

He primarily works in digital photography, and his series of ‘Photos from Inside a Lockdown’ (2020) was accepted into Herefordshire Libraries' online local history archive at herefordshirehistory.org.uk as a part of the #lifeunderlockdownHT project.

He has a photography book What Remains, created in partnership and collaboration with artist and photographer Linda Warren, currently awaiting publication.

www.paulligasvisualart.uk (launching 22 July 2022)

Twitter: @paulligas

Instagram: @paulligasphotography

Commercial photography: www.paulligas.com

About People of the Hop Harvest

People of the Hop Harvest developed out of a personal photography project that I began in 2016 after moving to Herefordshire. I’d been hired to take photographs of hop yards for artists in Birmingham, and that introduced me to Mark Andrews of Townend Hop Farm, near Bosbury. I asked if I could take photographs around his farm over the course of a year of all the work that’s done there, and I’m grateful that Mark agreed.

I met and learned of the hard work that seasonal workers from Poland do on his farm to help hops grow and to harvest them later in the year. It’s essential and often difficult work that many of them return to year after year. I wanted to show people this mostly unseen rural diversity and celebrate seasonal farm workers and the vital work that they do across all agriculture in the UK, from hops to fruit to vegetables.

I‘m excited to collaborate with poets Beth Calverley and Sara-Jane Arbury who have created poems that illustrate with words the theme of People of the Hop Harvest to accompany my photographs.

The pandemic put a temporary halt to my plans to exhibit the photographs but now, with funding from Arts Council England, People of the Hop Harvest is finally exhibiting around Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Dates and Venues

• 22 July 2022 to 31 July 2022 - Barrett Browning Institute, Bye Street, Ledbury, HR8 2AA

• 05 August to 14 August 2022 - Powerhouse Theatre, 7 Gomond Street, Hereford, HR1 2DP

• 26 August 2022 to 04 September 2022 - The Hive Library, Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester, WR1 3PD

• 23 September to 25 September 2022 - Malvern Autumn Show, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, WR13 6NW