Co-production as a new way of seeing: Using photographic exhibitions to challenge dominant stigmatising discourses

This chapter discusses how a research project focussing on historic regeneration in the Hillfields area of Coventry, UK, led to a co-produced photographic exhibition which challenged dominant narratives of ‘territorial stigmatisation’ (Wacquant, 2007) by attracting positive media and policy attention. The chapter examines the difficult but rewarding process of co-producing this exhibition as a new body of knowledge and a way of seeing historic Hillfields’ life from the situated perspectives of the community partners in the project. This process is assessed as an exploration of how to illustrate historic and competing community narratives. By elevating local knowledge in the public sphere, community partners benefited from positive outcomes. The chapter concludes that this sensitive and emergent approach may challenge both local perceptions of academia and methodological issues when working in and with communities.