We need your help! Donate and #SAVESIDE

NUPE

Richard Grassick

NUPE image
NUPE, 1978-1993 ©Richard Grassick

NUPE

Documentation of the working lives of members of the National Union of Public Employees in NE England, developed between 1978 and 1993.
  • Photographic
  • Communities
  • Northern Documentary
  • Politics & Struggles
  • UK Documentary
  • Work & Unemployment
  • 1968 – 1979
  • 1980 – 1989
  • 1990 – 1999
  • County Durham
  • Northumberland
  • Teesside
  • UK

NUPE, is Richard Grassick’s long-term documentation of the working lives of National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) members in North East England, developed between 1978 and 1993.

The series began before Grassick joined Amber and continued throughout his time with the collective. Focused on roles often overlooked, including cleaners, hospital porters, council workers and carers, the photographs offer a sustained portrait of public service in the years leading up to and through the privatisation policies of the 1980s and early 90s. The work informed Amber’s broader engagement with public sector change. It contributed to the making of The Privatisation Tapes by Amber’s Current Affairs Unit, of which Grassick was a member. The series is both a record of labour and a reflection on how political decisions shape everyday life.

Richard Grassick is a British photographer and filmmaker whose work often focuses on communities in transition, both locally and internationally. He was an active collaborator with Amber Films and Side Gallery through the 1980s and 90s, producing a range of socially engaged projects that explored identity, belonging and representation.

With a background in both still and moving image, Grassick has worked extensively across Europe, particularly in Germany, developing projects that connect personal stories with broader political contexts. His practice is rooted in documentary traditions, but often extends into experimental and participatory modes of production.

Grassick’s commitment to collaborative practice and underrepresented voices has defined much of his career, and his work remains part of the wider legacy of community-focused photography and film in Britain.

View license details
© Richard Grassick
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993
NUPE, 1978-1993

Related Works

Surviving on Darlington's Shop Floors

Photographic

A 1980/81 documentary series exploring factory work in Darlington, using photographs and text to reflect on labour and representation at the start of industrial decline.
The Privatisation Tapes (1986)

The Privatisation Tapes (1986)

Amber Current Affairs Unit

Film and Video

As the Conservative government unrolled its programme of privatisation the tapes looked at the prospects for local authority and hospital workers.
Ramar Goodbye

Ramar Goodbye

Richard Grassick

Photographic

A photographic record of the final weeks of work at Ramar clothing factory in Crook, County Durham, taken by Richard Grassick before its closure in 1991.