New pop-up photography festival brings Accrington’s stories to life
New pop-up photography festival brings Accrington’s stories to life
A new photography project celebrating Accrington’s people, places and heritage has been installed in the town centre.
The Accrington Pop Up Paste Up Photography Festival has transformed part of Church Street into an outdoor gallery, taking over two shopfronts, including the former Maneia premises, ss well as the adjacent alleyway.
The space now features almost 30 images capturing both historic and contemporary views of Accrington. The exhibition includes work from local photographers who responded to an open call, alongside archive images from Lancashire County Council’s Red Rose Collections, including photographs by the renowned Accrington photographer Garth Dawson.
The project has been developed and installed by Accrington based photographer Garry Cook, with support from Hyndburn Council’s Culture, Arts and Heritage Grant Programme, funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Garry Cook, Photographer said:
“It was lovely to receive so many brilliant images from photographers in Accrington, and even more of a thrill to paste them up large-scale for everyone to see.”
“I’ve enjoyed seeing people come and look at the images. And seeing some of the posts on Facebook, particularly by some of the people in the images on display who have come down to Church Street to see themselves in images which are 13 years old, has also been really cool.”
The festival has been designed to be as inclusive as possible, with images submitted by members of the public printed and displayed across in this corner of the town centre. Around 30 images are featured, many of which were submitted by local amateur and professional photographers, showcasing a wide range of perspectives and subjects connected to the town and beyond.
Printed on environmentally friendly blue back paper and installed using non-destructive wallpaper paste, the artworks will gently erode over time, ensuring no permanent impact on the buildings while creating a changing display.
Acrrington Pop-Up Paste-Up photograpy exhibition in Church Street, Accrington, Lancashire, UK.
The installation also encouraged public participation, with photographers and volunteers taking part in the paste up process.
Councillor Kate Walsh, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Arts at Hyndburn Council, said:
“This is a fantastic example of how creativity and community spirit can come together to celebrate Accrington’s identity. The Pop Up Paste Up festival showcases the talent we have locally and brings new life to our town centre in an engaging way. We are proud to support projects like this through our Culture, Arts and Heritage funding, helping people connect with our history while creating something fresh for residents and visitors alike.”
The Accrington Pop-Up Paste-Up Photography Festival is now in place for residents and visitors to enjoy in the heart of the town.
The Hyndburn Culture, Arts and Heritage Grant Programme was launched last summer and offered small grants to support a wide range of projects that celebrate local identity, build pride in place and bring people together through culture.
The Pop-Up Paste-Up Photography Festival is one of several projects funded by the Council under this programme.
The photographers who took part in the exhibition are Martin Blackburn, Bev Nixon, Stefan Pankow, Ian Dixon, Alyson Lyon, Jasmine Wilkinson, Chanel Carter, Trisha Hawke, Rachael Nellany, Michael Treen, Patricia Stewart, Judith Murphy, Christine Thomas, Michael Lynn, Rory Stevenson, Sophia Borwick, Walks Walker and Garth Dawson.
Funding for this project has been provided by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Photo credits: Garry Cook