Before and After Coal: Images and Voices from Scottish Coal Mining Communities

Explore the history and lasting impact of coal through photographs and voices from Scottish mining communities. In 1982, American photographer Milton Rogovin came to Scotland to photograph Scottish miners at their pits, in their homes, and during their leisure time. Forty years on from the Miners’ Strike in 1984, the artist, Nicky Bird has updated Rogovin’s documentation by meeting with individuals and families connected with the original photographs.

Their stories focus on themes of family, community spirit, work and place, expressing ideas and feelings about what has changed and what has endured. The results of this engagement are at the heart of this exhibition of new work created with Bird in response to Rogovin’s images. Keep checking back to find out about our programme of events to complement Before and After Coal.

 Find out more about Before and After Coal

Explore the stories and lives of people in and around three Scottish mining communities through blogs, video, audio recordings and the photographs of Milton Rogovin and Nicky Bird:

Images & Voices from Scotland's Mining Communities

Before and After Coal Audio tour

In this tour Nicky Bird speaks with people from the Scottish mining communities about artworks in the exhibition. You will also hear a conversation between Milton Rogovin’s daughter Paula and granddaughter Malaika. The conversations cover some highlights from the exhibition. The stories shared are personal and reflect a range of experiences of working and living in Scotland’s mining communities, both then and now. We hope the conversations that you hear bring you closer to the works in the exhibition.

Before & After Coal Audio Tour