Streets in Action highlights!

I was kindly invited by Graham Wilson, Chief Executive of the National Authority of British Market Authorities (NABMA for short) to speak at their conference in Birmingham last week on 27th Jan. The theme was Streets in Action, and I was able to present a case study of Talking Shop in Lancaster, where we’ve been putting artwork into empty shop windows around the city.

It was a great opportunity to show market and town centre managers what can be achieved when you work in a creative way in town centres, and I spoke alongside Alice Angus, the artist who worked on the project. See the website for more info: http://www.midpenninearts.org.uk/talking-shop-lancaster

I also got to hear from some speakers that I would never otherwise have come across, working as I do in the arts sector. Here are my conference highlights:


Chuggers Watch Out!

Did you know that a ‘chugger’ (short for charity mugger!) can only take three paces towards you, three alongside you, and three following you in their bid to get your attention? Any more than these nine steps and they are contravening the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association ‘Code of Conduct’ that the charities employing them are usually signed up to. So email any complaints about contravening of this rule to nick@pfra.org.uk – apparently he loves a good complaint, as Head of Standards it means he can make sure he is doing his job!


Character Zones

Apparently this is the buzzword taking over from Cultural Quarters, which are close to my heart as many moons ago I wrote my dissertation about them. I like the idea that an area is celebrated for its ‘character’, which can apply to a wider range of contexts.


Ambush Marketing

Staff from the Olympic 2012 team told us about this and their attempts to control it for the games next year. Ambush marketing is basically when people don’t get permission for advertising in public spaces and hijack a building or public space – so for example projecting images on the Houses of Parliament or parking an empty bus covered in advertising behind news reporters at the scene of an event. Sounds like fun, but I can only imagine the mayhem if they didn’t try to control it.


So some very different perspectives for me gained from the day, and I met several useful contacts too. Also got to meet the lovely Nick Owen of ‘Anne and Nick’ breakfast TV fame who was presenting awards, so a minor celeb-spot too, which always makes my day!

Lucy Green,

Talking Shop Project Coordinator

Mid Pennine Arts launches Project Pride

NEWS RELEASE: 01/02/2011


Mid Pennine Arts launches Project Pride!


North West Arts Charity playing pivotal role in renewal of Pennine Lancs heritage sites!

MID Pennine Arts has announced the launch of a ground-breaking major new scheme that will focus on the heritage of Burnley, Accrington and Nelson.

The focus of “Project Pride” will be to look at how trade and industry has shaped the towns over the last 200 years. The project will research and interpret the industrial heritage of three key places within the towns – each of which is facing major change in coming months and years, and each of which has played a pivotal role in shaping the identity of the towns.

Project Pride locations include Burnley’s Weavers’ Triangle, which is set to be the focal point of a major regeneration programme; the recently refurbished Victorian Market Hall in Accrington; and the junction of Leeds Road and Manchester Road in Nelson, which is currently in the process of being re-developed. The Nelson site includes the ‘Lord Nelson’ public house, from which the town took its name.


Mid Pennine Arts has been working with local Councils to help reignite local pride of place relating to town centres, particularly amongst younger people. Through Project Pride the arts charity will be working with groups of people aged 13-15 from local schools to develop ideas for the project to uncover and celebrate their heritage. The project will work alongside libraries, museums, North West Sound Archive and Lancashire Record Office.

Organisers hope that the project will enable young people to learn about their heritage and understand how trade and industry enabled the towns to grow into the places we know today. The project came about after Mid Pennine Arts successfully applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund ‘Young Roots’ programme to fund the project that will continue until summer 2011.

Lucy Green, Mid Pennine Arts’ project coordinator for Project Pride, said: ”We did some initial work last summer – a consultation with young people from the area, from which grew the idea for the project. That has seen us win £25,000 worth of funding, which is a real coup for the area in this tough economic climate. We are now looking for the right artists to work with, who can help to bring the young people’s ideas to life!”


“We want the project to bring about the re-telling of stories that have defined our identities and shaped our communities. Our ultimate objective is to inspire everyone involved in the project to think differently and in a more positive way about the place in which they live. We want Project Pride to inspire people and to demonstrate some of the many good reasons to be proud of where we live!”

More details about the project and the opportunities for artists to get involved are on the Mid Pennine Arts website: www.midpenninearts.org.uk/opportunities

Mid Pennine Arts Relocates to Burnley’s Weavers’ Triangle

1 Neptune Street is the white building

MID PENNINE Arts, the regional arts charity has this week completed a move to new offices in the heart of Burnley’s historic Weavers’ Triangle. The organisation’s arrival coincides with fresh moves to kickstart the long-awaited rebirth of the unique heritage area.


Mid Pennine Arts has built a reputation for innovative art projects that have attracted international attention to Pennine Lancashire – most notably the Panopticons including Burnley’s Singing Ringing Tree, Pendle’s Atom, Rossendale’s Halo and Blackburn’s Colourfields. The organisation is especially committed to celebrating the unique heritage of the area, and sees the canalside Weaver’s Triangle as a prime location for doing this.

Mid Pennine Arts aims to break out of the traditional gallery setting, and to take creative projects directly to a wider audience. The new office base is shared with green energy providers the Low Carbon Energy Company in a new partnership for both parties. The base will also provide a platform for creative work with partner organisations, schools and community groups, to start to breathe life back into a townscape that has long lain dormant.

Nick Hunt, Creative Director for Mid Pennine Arts, said: “The Weavers’ Triangle is hugely important for the future of Burnley and Pennine Lancashire. It celebrates our industrial past, and points to a brighter future. This move reinforces our commitment to highlighting our heritage with bold, contemporary art. Already this autumn we have launched the Contemporary Heritage programme in partnership with Towneley Hall, and this new series of big, cutting edge art commissions will soon provide a fresh view of other key heritage venues across Pennine Lancashire. Alongside those projects, moving into the Weavers’ Triangle makes perfect sense for Mid Pennine Arts and we are very excited about the future, as we reach out to new audiences and aim to put art at the heart of Burnley’s renaissance.”

“Mid Pennine Arts has been based at Burnley Mechanics since the opening of the building. This has been a long and happy association and we are very grateful to our partners at Burnley Borough Council for all their support. Now we want to work with the Council in breathing new life into the Weavers’ Triangle. We also look forward to a ground-breaking new partnership with the Low Carbon Energy Company.”

Mike Cook, Burnley Council’s Director of Regeneration and Housing, said: ‘This is good news for Mid Pennine Arts, for the Weavers’ Triangle, and for Burnley. It’s an important statement of confidence in the area’s future and in the aspirations we and our partners have for genuine transformation of the town’s historic industrial heart. On behalf of the Council, I’d like to wish them the very best in their new home.’

The arrival of Mid Pennine Arts coincides with moves by Burnley Borough Council to attract private sector developers to take on key sites clustered around the Sandygate development area. The canalside open space opposite Slater Terrace has been agreed as a future new public space, with an exciting new design selected through the recent Pennine Lancashire Squared design competition. This month the Council is ‘greening’ the area that will become Sandygate Square with an attractive temporary treatment to provide a glimpse of this brighter future.

In spite of economic gloom, these initiatives show the future starting to take shape for the Weavers’ Triangle. Mid Pennine Arts, working alongside partners like the Borough Council and the Prince’s Charities, is aiming to lead the way.

Mid Pennine Arts launches “As it Comes: Talking Shop Lancaster”

Sketch by artist Alice Angus
MID Pennine Arts and the Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce have announced the launch of As It Comes, a new commission by artist Alice Angus working with local independent traders, shopkeepers and marketstall owners to celebrate and highlight the overlooked skills, unseen knowledge and rich history of traders in the community.

As it Comes is part of the Lancaster Talking Shop project, which celebrates independent shops and shopkeepers, through artists, designers, photographers and musicians working with local businesses to document, celebrate and highlight their role in the community. The project will highlight some of the unique aspects of Lancaster’s traders and residents, allowing shoppers and visitors to see the area in a new light. Organisers have undertaken the project as part of broader initiatives to raise the profile of traders and increase visitors to areas of Lancaster that have been adversely affected by the economic climate.

As It Comes continues Alice’s work on markets and shops exploring the communities and community bonds they support. Alice was inspired by the skills, crafts and care of traders she got to know in Lancaster, the history of cotton production and the combination of old and new technologies in the area. The resulting work combines traditional embroidery with drawing and cutting edge digital printing on fabric to produce a new series of large scale works to be shown in New Street in November and December.

Lucy Green, Talking Shop Project Coordinator from Mid Pennine Arts, said: “Working closely with our partners, we’ve developed a project with local roots that brings a fresh perspective to what makes Lancaster such a unique place. Having worked closely with retailers, Alice’s work will fill the shop windows of what is now the last empty retail unit on New Street, encouraging shoppers to look at Lancaster in a new light.”

Alice Angus, said: “At first I was amazed to find that within a five minute walk I could have a wedding dress made by a local designer, pick up some home cured ham, local cheese and vegetables, have a suit made and then go to have my chainsaw sharpened. The range of independent traders and their skills is impressive. I've been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of all the people and traders I’ve met in Lancaster. They’ve shared memories and allowed me to see 'behind the scenes' – and draw and photograph them at work! I’ve found a rich heritage of independent trade that people are rightly proud of, something vitally important to support, preserve and build on in the future.”

Mid Pennine Arts is delivering the project in partnership with Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce, Storey Gallery and the History Department of Lancaster University.

Contemporary Heritage: a new way of seeing Towneley Hall and Park

Mid Pennine Arts and Towneley Hall partner on the first Contemporary Heritage commission

BURNLEY’s Towneley Hall and Park is gearing up for the imminent launch of Contemporary Heritage featuring the work of nationally acclaimed artist Geraldine Pilgrim.

Not Forgotten, which opens on Saturday 11th September, forms part of Contemporary Heritage, a Mid Pennine Arts partnership programme inspired by the historic venues that Pennine Lancashire is home to. Rebecca Alexander Mid Pennine Arts’ Visual Arts and Projects Officer, said: “Pennine Lancashire has a wealth of sites, from Castles to Towers, all rich with stories and history. We are working with our partner venues to commission artists to create new work in response to these stunning locations.”

“We are passionate about the cultural heritage we have in Pennine Lancashire and the opportunity Contemporary Heritage offers visitors to experience major works of art outside a city environment by artists of national and international standing.”

Not Forgotten is the latest work of artist Geraldine Pilgrim, whose installations reveal memories and atmospheres, as well as the history of the space. It is something of a coup for Pennine Lancashire that the first commission of this flagship project has been awarded to Geraldine Pilgrim, a highly acclaimed artist whose previous work has been commissioned by organisations as varied as Girl Guides UK, English Heritage, The National Review of Live Art Festival, The National Trust and Liverpool’s Bluecoat Gallery.

The Not Forgotten installation, commissioned for Towneley Hall and Park, has been inspired by a distinctive portrait of John and Mary Towneley and their seven sons and seven daughters. The work will enable people to experience Towneley in new ways and will cast light on elements of the history of the location that present a compelling meditation on memory and loss.

Mid Pennine Arts have been working with Mike Townend, Towneley’s Senior Curator to develop the programme. Mike said: “We’re looking at new ways of using our collections – so to have provided the inspiration for a nationally recognised contemporary artist is fantastic. We really hope this will engage people and take contemporary art to a new audience.”

“People will begin to see Towneley in new ways - with installations in both the grounds and the Hall. You can stand in a window at Towneley and look out at the installation in the landscape and it gives the place a different perspective. We call it ‘Looking in: looking out’. “

Mid Pennine Arts Creative Director Nick Hunt, said: “Towneley are great partners and we are really excited that Contemporary Heritage is set to launch at Towneley. It’s a really fitting location for Geraldine Pilgrim’s installations and I’m sure Not Forgotten will prove to be extremely engaging and memorable.”

He added: “This marks the latest step for Mid Pennine Arts’ ambitions to see Pennine Lancashire become an arts, culture and heritage destination. Mid Pennine Arts bring art, people and places together to transform perceptions and change lives.”

If you require further information, images or would like to interview Geraldine Pilgrim, Artist, Nick Hunt, Creative Director and Rebecca Alexander, Visual Arts and Projects Officer from Mid Pennine Arts and - please call Rob Carder from Mid Pennine Arts on 01282 421 986 or email Rob@midpenninearts.org.uk

Further Contemporary Heritage installations are being developed with our Lancashire County Council and our partner venues, Clitheroe Castle Museum, Gawthorpe Hall, Helmshore Mills Textile Museum and Turton Tower.

About Mid Pennine Arts

Mid Pennine Arts is a driving force for the arts, recognised nationally for devising and delivering exemplary integrated creative programmes. We bring art, people and places together to transform perceptions and change lives. The vast experience of our team ensures excellence across a range of arts disciplines and responds to identified needs. Our work with private, public or community sector clients inspires participants, unlocks aspiration and reignites civic pride.

We are an independent charity. We’re based in Pennine Lancashire but our work and influence extends way beyond into county –wide projects and into West Yorkshire. Our work has achieved national and international recognition. Our most successful work is developed through partnerships, networks and creative collaborations. Our work is people-centred and people-friendly - it celebrates diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. We embody a spirit of discovery, and integrate creative learning into all our projects. We strive for the best possible creative results, and the most ambitious impacts. We’re always aiming to break new ground in the content, the context and the outcomes of our work.

Talking Shop in Lancaster

By Lucy Green

Talking Shop engages creative practitioners to work with independent businesses to document, celebrate and highlight their importance as hubs of the local community.


Artist Alice Angus (http://www.proboscis.org.uk/) has been commissioned by Mid Pennine Arts to deliver the next project in the Talking Shop series celebrating independent shops and shopkeepers, this time in Lancaster city centre. The project is being delivered in partnership with Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce, Storey Gallery and the History Department, Lancaster University.


Talking Shop in Lancaster will highlight what makes the area unique in terms of its independent retail offer. It will also encourage shopkeepers, shoppers and city visitors to see the area in a new light, and bring footfall in areas of Lancaster that have been adversely affected by the recent economic problems.


Alice is planning various activities to involve shopkeepers, stallholders and individuals and will spend time in some of the shops and market stalls, talking with traders, observing and recording life in those places. She will also be working with local people, in groups and individually to understand their experience of shopping in the city.

The final artwork will be a series of large scale drawings and illustrations on show in empty shops in the city centre during the autumn, a website with audio recordings and images, and a publication. We’ll be launching the exhibition of artworks in Lancaster with a celebratory community event, so keep an eye out for further details as the project develops.

The Big Society

The Conservative - Liberal Democrat Government have an ambition: to put more power and opportunity into people’s hands. They want to give citizens, communities and local government the power and information they need to come together, solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want. They want society – the families, networks, neighbourhoods and communities that form the fabric of so much of our everyday lives – to be bigger and stronger than ever before. They want to:

1. Give communities more powers
2. Encourage people to take an active role in their communities
3. Transfer power from central to local government
4. Support co-ops, mutuals, charities and social enterprises
5. Publish government data

Localism is the principle, decentralisation the process and then Big Society will be the outcome.  Mid Pennine Arts, like many other arts organisations, is an independent social enterprise with charitable status. We have a volunteer, community-based Trustee Board. Much of our work uses art to bring people into an active role in their communities. We've been around a while and we know that what tends to happen in response to all major new policy is an amount of wheel reinvention. Big Society is in place to differing extents in different communities.We believe that there is a danger that this will be ignored in the rush to drive policy change in the context of public funding cuts. Wheel reinvention will happen rather than building on what works already.