A month-long art project celebrating everything about Blyth is drawing to a close.

On Saturday 29 October from 3pm to 5pm residents of Blyth are invited to celebrate a month long exhibition and pay tribute to the artists behind the project and the people of Blyth who have responded by sharing their art and creativity, their experiences and memories of living in the town and their hopes for the future.  

  

With no wall space left, the closing celebration will be a chance for residents and local people to come together and celebrate the contributions that have come forward throughout the project and be part of the conversation about what Blyth means to the people who live there.  

 

This Closing Celebration will take place in the newly established Project Space in Keel Row Shopping Centre on Saturday 29th October, 3pm – 5pm. Admission is free.    

  

Visitors to the last day of the exhibition will have the chance to see colour photographs taken in and around the town by artists and photographers Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale from The Caravan Gallery, who use photography to document the reality and surreality of everyday life, alongside hundreds of creative contributions from local people.    

  

The exhibition includes wall to wall loaned items by members of the public including paintings, photographs, objects, models, memorabilia, music, films, stories as well as futurist artwork and a map created by local people with a story to tell about Blyth.  

  

The Blyth Pride of Place Project, which has been commissioned by Northumberland County Council and delivered by PlaceCreate, is part of the £70m Energising Blyth Regeneration Programme and is one of a series of pilot projects exploring culture across Blyth in advance of major investment to improve the town centre and deliver major new events and activities for the community to enjoy.  

 

Councillor Wojciech Ploszaj, Cabinet Member for Business, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity to showcase the creativity, personal stories, and images contributed by the people of Blyth at the same time as seeing all the fantastic photos the Caravan Gallery team have taken all over town.    

   

“This is just one cultural event that is happening as part of the Energising Blyth programme alongside the plans for improving the town centre including the new Culture Hub on the Market Place. The public can expect a lot more cultural events in the future for the community and visitors alike to enjoy.”   

  

Blyth Town Council Councillor Kath Nisbet said: “I took part in the opening of the exhibition and I encouraged people to get involved. As always with the people of Blyth, they've come up trumps. 
 

“My councillor colleagues have been along and they are so impressed with what's happening there. It's fantastic. It's a fabulous project and absolutely what the town needs to remind people about what a rich culture and heritage we have. 
 

“We are looking at ways to extend it because it is such an asset to the community to see and celebrate its past, present and future.” 

  

Artists and photographers Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale from The Caravan Gallery said:  

  

“When we started our groundwork earlier this year with PlaceCreate we just hadn't expected quite so much enthusiasm due to the way Blyth is generally portrayed. The exhibition is full of art, photos, books, models and crafts as well as a huge map where local people have been invited to mark places of interest, whether that's somewhere to visit or a place that means something to them.  
 

“Every day people are coming in sharing their stories and bringing things in. There's such a buzz and it's clear that having somewhere like this where people can celebrate what they love about living here and share their artistic and creative talent is just brilliant.”  

 

Cristina Armstrong, Creative Producer at PlaceCreate, organisers of the Energising Blyth Culture Pilots including The Caravan Gallery’s recent visits to the town, added:  

  

“We’re delighted with the positive impact this project has had not only by local people but the warm response we’ve had to help create a truly unique exhibition together with The Caravan Gallery and the people of Blyth. Looking around the walls of the exhibition you really do get a sense of the rich cultural heritage, the uniqueness and creative diversity of the town.”   

  

The exhibition continues until Saturday 29 October, with the final closing celebration taking place from 3-5pm.