New London portrait exhibition celebrates the city’s cleaners

8th of July 2019
New London portrait exhibition celebrates the city’s cleaners

A new portrait exhibition in London celebrates the lives of cleaners and other less visible workers.

Staged by ethical cleaning company Clean for Good, the display tells the stories of some of London's hardest-working "hidden workers" and highlights their contribution to city life.

The exhibition features striking black-and-white portraits of cleaners from the Clean for Good team together with a summary of their stories. These include a portrait of Mario, working hard in the UK and learning English so that he can return to the Dominican Republic to buy his own home; Ecuadorian Ivonne who formerly worked as a carer for elderly people in Tel Aviv, and Birute, a Lithuanian nurse who is working as a cleaner while she learns English and finds her feet in the UK.

Established in 2017, Clean for Good has 40 employees and aims to provide a fairer deal for cleaners.

"We take the Fairtrade principle and apply it to the UK," said managing director Tim Thorlby. "We are a Living Wage Employer and directly employ all our cleaners, giving them full employment benefits above the statutory minimums." Clean for Good also aims to operate to high environmental standards and use eco-friendly products.

The To See or Not to See? exhibition is being staged at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate church in Holborn and runs until August 31.

The exhibition will be free of charge and available for visitors to view during the church's normal opening hours. "Holy Sepulchre is proud to be customers of Clean for Good and to support fair cleaning for London's cleaners," the church claims on its website.

Click here for more information.

 

 

Our Partners

  • ISSA Interclean
  • EFCI
  • EU-nited