One of the central aims of Land and its partner project Panopticons is to involve local people creatively in the regeneration of East Lancashire.
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 has since been expanded into other districts with the title ‘Talking Shop’. In spring 2006, photographer Andy Ford took his camera to local shops and businesses in Burnley, and his lively and colourful images were exhibited at the Mid Pennine Gallery in June. Subsequently, as part of Architecture Week 2006 (16-25 June), the exhibition was toured to the areas in which the photographs had been taken in an innovative exhibition trailer called the ‘Architruck’. Once again, school and community workshops were held.
This was closely followed by an exhibition of photographs of Oswaldtwistle shops and businesses, held at Oswaldtwistle Mills and, for one day, in the Architruck. Each segment of the project is being treated differently to reflect the different feel and culture of each town. The Oswaldtwistle segment, funded by Awards For All, was a collaboration between Mid Pennine Arts and Oswaldtwistle Players and had a drama element with a new (comic) piece written specifically for this project performed for the first time on Saturday 2 September 2006 in Jubilee Gardens and Oswaldtwistle Mills.
The intention is that Mid Pennine Arts will continue to roll out this project into other districts beyond the end of Land in March 2007.
‘Talking Shop’ is sponsored by Land partner Elevate, the organisation responsible for revitalising East Lancashire's housing market. Kathleen Houghton, Elevate’s Communications Director, said, “We are sponsoring ‘Talking Shop’ because we recognise that housing market renewal depends on more than just housing. Vibrant, sustainable, urban neighbourhoods also depend on local shops and businesses, and we are interested in exploring this further with local business people, shop owners and workers.”
Visit the Talking Shop website to see more images (click here)
Image: Talking Shop
