Children on the streets of Leith were among Sandra George's subjects, and the Edinburgh photographer's work is now being brought to a wider audience through a major exhibition at the City Arts Centre. George, who moved to Edinburgh in 1980 to study photography, documented communities including Craigmillar, Wester Hailes, Greendykes and Niddrie over three decades before her death from cancer aged 57 in 2013.
The exhibition is being developed by Craigmillar Now with the Edinburgh Art Festival and the City Arts Centre. The heritage organisation was entrusted with more than 80,000 photos after George's death, and is now more than halfway through preserving and digitising the archive as it works to put her photographs before the public.
How did Sandra George's archive come to light?
Craigmillar Now received the archive after George died, and the collection had been kept largely out of sight during her lifetime. The body of work was stored in a garden shed, and the current exhibition of 200 photos is the largest display so far, though it is still only a fraction of what she left behind.
Julie Berman, a volunteer at Craigmillar Now since it opened, said she had known George as a youth worker but had not realised the scale of her photographic work.
"I knew Sandra as a youth worker but I had no idea that she did all this," she says.
"She was obviously able to be in the background which helped her get into these spaces and take pictures anonymously."
Tyler, George's son, said he first appeared in her photos as a premature baby in an incubator. He described her as someone he thought had been a hoarder, and said the family had little idea what to do with the folders and files of negatives until his father came across the archive and approached the exhibitors, who were keen to take it on.
As well as photographs, the exhibition includes George's cameras, equipment and notebooks. One notebook includes the notes "stop making assumptions about people" and "start from the level people are based", a philosophy that inspired the exhibition's title.
What do the photographs show?
The photographs span George's time in Edinburgh and also include work from her native Birmingham. They show everyday life, activism and identity in communities that changed rapidly over time, including protests and demonstrations in Edinburgh and Birmingham, where she grew up.
As a young black woman, George was interested in identity in a changing world and moved easily through different settings. Her subjects included Sikh shopkeepers photographed beside racist graffiti, a black actor in Highland dress outside a theatre, a crowd of children and a young policewoman in a playground.
Some of George's earliest Edinburgh photographs were taken at the Royal Blind School in 1980, while other images show children from Craigmillar School in 1994 and a black theatre group in Craigmillar in 1983.
The display also includes a photograph of a boy sitting on a climbing frame in front of the high flats of Greendykes in 1995. The archive records a range of settings and people across the city, including children on the streets of Leith.
Why does the exhibition matter to Craigmillar?
The exhibition is being seen as a chance to strengthen pride and energy in Craigmillar while sharing George's work more widely. The community has a strong tradition of creative women, dating back to Helen Crummy, who founded the Craigmillar Festival after children in the area were deemed ineligible for music lessons.
Christian Noel Charles, the exhibition's co-curator and an artist from New York, discovered George's work while researching an archive of black women in Scotland. She said George's recognition had been overdue.
"Sandra George was a pioneer and a game-changer in terms of representing and documenting Edinburgh, but also as a photographer," she says.
"As an artist who uses identity in my own work, she really was an important teacher who was so prolific and so passionate."
Streetside billboards carrying George's work are also part of the exhibition, creating a full circle moment for many who knew her. Tyler said one of the outdoor installations was placed near the area where he used to walk to school.
"It's overwhelming really," he says, "Sandra would always see something that others might miss.
"She had this magical ability to just be able to point a camera at something and find that moment.
"And hopefully this is a way of sharing that skill with others."
Becky Smith, who was photographed by George about 30 years ago, returned with her own children to see the framed image on the gallery wall and as a postcard in the gift shop. She said she remembered many photos being taken during play schemes when she was younger.
"I remember lots of photos being taken when I was younger in play schemes," she says.
"But this is good because it's a piece of art now, isn't it?"
"I'm planning on coming with my mum and my sister to see the exhibition because we've seen other photos that people that we know are in."
Start from the Level is on at the City Arts Centre in Edinburgh from 27 June until 27 September.
