Mid Pennine Arts art+people+places

 

ShadowLand

This project, which set out to celebrate and record aspects of the history of East Lancashire by involving young people in capturing and recreating the reminiscences of older people, began with a pilot project in Pendle in March 2004.  In the summer, the project moved to Rossendale, where Esther Davies of 3DV Writers' Group and artist Kerris Casey St Pierre worked with Bacup Youth Theatre gathering tales and experiences from local people to create a performance at Bacup Royal Court Theatre in June. This was a contemporary dance piece telling the story of Bacup, performed by students from Rossendale School of Dance and Drama with an original soundscape plus set and costumes by Horse and Bamboo Theatre.  In July 2004, stories and puppets from the Bacup ShadowLand project were exhibited and a performance by 3DV Writers’ Group took place at Haslingden Community Centre during the Rossendale Alive Festival.

On Pendle Hill

Spot On, Lancashire's Rural Touring Network, enabled six groups of young people from Lancaster, Ribble Valley and Pendle districts to work with Blaize Theatre to produce a professional show reflecting their experiences of rural life. On Pendle Hill, toured to Barnoldswick, Bolton by Bowland, Longridge, Arkholme and Clitheroe in June 2004.

UR space

During Architecture Week in June 2004, young people from Hyndburn and Pendle worked on a cross-borough project based on Hyndburn's autumn 2003 Land project, Where we Live.  Architects and artists led children in an exploration of their ideal spaces and work produced was displayed at exhibitions in Waterside Community Centre, Colne, and Springhill Community Centre, Accrington.

Land exhibition at Mid Pennine Gallery

In summer 2004, a month-long exhibition at the Gallery showcased successful Land projects to date and previewed future plans. This formula was repeated in autumn 2005, including an interactive element whereby visitors were able to explore a light-projected labyrinth by Jim Buchanan and ‘walk’ from Burnley town centre to Crown Point with the aid of a computer.

Calendars 2005 and 2006

In December 2004, Land mounted a unique project with partners Elevate East Lancashire and Design East Lancashire, to give young people a chance to have their say about how their towns could be developed and improved. Artists worked with children from six Pendle schools to explore the importance of design in the landscape. The project resulted in a stunning wall calendar for 2005, entitled My Perfect Town, containing twelve images of ‘perfect’ towns as imagined and represented by schoolchildren through sculpture, painting and modelling.  The calendar attracted the attention of the Prince of Wales during his October 2005 visit to Nelson, when he met some of the children involved.  Following on from the success of My Perfect Town, a second calendar was commissioned for 2006, featuring designs by schoolchildren based on their dreams of the Pennine Lancashire of the future. Six artists worked with six schools across East Lancashire to produce the artwork for this calendar, Dreaming of Pennine Lancashire.  Needless to say, the Prince of Wales was one of the first recipients of the new version!

Shopkeepers

In summer 2005, a group of local shopkeepers in Pendle took part in Shopkeepers, a pilot project to document the effects of regeneration on their businesses. Documentary photographer Gavin Parry took a series of photographs of shops and their keepers, which were compiled in a souvenir postcard pack and were also the subject of an exhibition at the Mid Pennine Gallery. Filmed interviews with the shopkeepers formed a soundtrack to the exhibition.  In keeping with the aims of Land, a series of workshops held during the exhibition offered school and community groups the opportunity to explore the ideas behind the project and the production techniques involved.  The project was expanded into other districts with the title Talking Shop.  You can read about the ten subsequent projects on our Talking Shop webpages.

Plus:

The Inspiring Creativity Conference and the Young Carers' Retreat which have their own webpages.