Artist Residency - UHC at Turton Tower
The inspiration for the third Contemporary Heritage project is Turton Tower a unique and atmospheric visitor destination nestled amongst ancient trees and set against the beautiful West Pennine Moors between Blackburn and Bolton.
Contemporary Heritage: A new way of seeing is an ambitious contemporary art programme created by Mid Pennine Arts (MPA) in partnership with historic venues across Lancashire. The artist residencies were commissioned by MPA in collaboration with Turton Tower and Helmshore Mills Textile Museum.
The Ultimate Holding Company, an artist co-operative based in Manchester represented by Jai Redman, were in residence at Turton Tower in October 2011. UHC is a multi-disciplinary studio that draws on a wide range of traditional and contemporary fine art practices including digital art, public performance and sculpture.
UHC created a new interactive 3D digital sculpture representing the beauty, history and complexity of Turton Tower. UHC gave visitors an insight into Turton Tower's hidden architectural narrative, staircases that disappeared and doorways from rooms that led to nowhere. This was shown by creating a 3D version of the building using Google SketchUp.
During the residency a number of artist-led tours and interactive workshops took place which included the opportunity for visitors to create their own 3D digital sculptures using SketchUP.
You can explore the results of UHC’s residency online here.
Mid Pennine Arts and Turton Tower would like to thank Arts Council England and Perspectives of Pennine Lancashire for their financial support.
