McGhie, H., Snee, H., 2025.

Through the Lens of Tish: Gen Z's Reflections on Class and Creativity

There is a class problem in the cultural and creative industries (CCI) that has been the focus of ongoing academic research, policy interest and public discourse. Given these entrenched inequalities are well known, what should be done to support the next generation of working-class talent? This paper reports the findings from an exploratory project involving researchers from sociology, youth studies and photography alongside a group of young creatives from working-class backgrounds in collaboration with SharpFutures, a Manchester-based social enterprise that supports disadvantaged young people into employment in the creative digital sector. A screening of the documentary film Tish (2023) was the catalyst for conversations around the legacy the work of Tish Murtha (1956-2013), Generation Z's experiences of class and their experiences of attempting to establish a CCI career. The young people were supported by SharpFutures to develop creative responses to the film, with three choosing photography themselves and two others choosing their own disciplines of writing and illustration. These offered counter-narratives to typical depictions of working-class life and offered a call to action. An exhibition of the work was explored through interactive reflective discussion in situ with a range of stakeholders. We draw on a theorisation of photography as a 'relational contract' as a tool to facilitate encounters between creative practitioners, organisational communities and image audiences, who collaboratively reflect on social and political issues and develop ideas. Taking inspiration from youthinformed participatory methods, we suggest ways to harness creative practice to bring about meaningful social change in classed inequalities.