This blog was originally published here, as part of a series of blogs documenting my process as one of six commissioned artists working on QDT laundrette.
Read the rest of the blogs here: https://qdtlaundretteartists.blogspot.com/
READ or LISTEN
Hope & Laundry is a zine about searching for change in the laundrettes of Brighton & Hove. It’s about following fear to find hope.
Born out of connections made with dozens of customers and laundrette workers, Hope & Laundry is inspired by different conversations and encounters around, and about, the city’s laundrettes.
The four poetic snapshots developed from online responses and messages left in notebooks, chats over tea or on the phone, conversations and observations from my local laundrette and musings on this blog. (You can look back at previous blog posts to find out more)
I will be leaving some copies of the zine in laundrettes around town to be found… Starting with Soapbox in Hanover, Highdowns in Hove and Sit & Spin on Lewes Road. I hope the poetry provides an enjoyable accompaniment to the rhythm of the dryers and insight into the thoughts and feelings of some people who frequent laundrettes in Brighton & Hove.
I personally really quite like it when I realise I’m recognising myself in people or places I hadn’t before. I hope you too can recognise some part of yourself in Hope & Laundry.
All illustrations by Els Christensen
READ the zine HERE
LISTEN to the audio HERE
Or if you’re in Brighton & Hove you can find printed copies at:
Soapbox, Montreal Road (Hanover)
Sit & Spin, Lewes Road
Highdown Laundrette, Highdown Road (Hove)
Commissioned and produced by Quiet Down There (quietdownthere.co.uk)
Funded by Arts Council England
THANK YOU to everybody involved with the project!
In particular…
Staff and customers at Soapbox, Highdown Laundrette and Sit & Spin.
Wendy, Charlie and Ezra
David and Ethan at Antifreeze
Aditi Bhonagiri and Ash and Maureen Sharma
Adriana, Helen, Loz, Patrica, Tanya, Zeb, Roja- and all who responded to my call outs, or wrote in a notebook. Amy, Femi, Dulani, Anuja for editing support and creative wisdom Tom and Jill for the design advice. Quiet Down There for the guidance and support.
For any more information on the project:
www.quietdownthere.co.uk/qdt-laundrette
Josephine Hall 
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