The Preston Project Zine

The Preston Project Brought to you by the young harris producers

Contents 1. Introduction to HYPe and the Preston Project 2. Meet us page (HYPe Memebrs) 3. Documentation of the exhibition Space at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery 4. Impact of the restrictions on the Preston Project 5. Moving online/ Virtual content 6. Mini Projects 7. Open call and Submissions 8. Open Discussion 9. The Preston Project Panel 10. Reflecting on The Preston Project

Funded by Reverberate, a Shout Out Loud initiative in partnership with Sound Connections, to support grassroots, youth focussed heritage projects. Shout Out Loud is a Kick the Dust project funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund

WHAT IS THE PRESTON PROJECT? The Preston Project is an interactive project that aims to make connections and bring people together through celebrating Preston’s Heritage.

To achieve this, HYPe have been exploring ways to document the stories of young people who live, work or have experiences in Preston.

What is HYPe? HYPe is a group of young creatives who meet at the Harris Museum every Wednesday and over lockdown via zoom. We work together to create exhibition, host events, and share projects that we hope will be accessible and engaging to other young people.

Hype is a partnership project between the Harris and Blaze, a youth led arts organisation that exists to support the next generation of creative producers. If you want to join HYPe email hannah@blazearts.co.uk

We also have been working hard to showcase Preston’s diverse, creative talent and explore ways of how we can connect the arts to the wider public.

Due to Lockdown, The Preston Project has taken place in a gallery space at The Harris as well as virtually, through the Harris Young Producers’ social media account.

The Preston Project is supported by Reverberate which is part of Shout Out Loud, English Heritage's national youth engagement programme, and being delivered in partnership with Sound Connections.

Beth

Hey! I'm Beth and I was born in Preston. I think heritage is about celebrating real people's stories. I love how theatre allows me to get into character, research and share some of these unheard stories with audiences. I can't wait to uncover young people’s tales and creative talents with ‘The Preston Project'. Let’s get sharing!

Jessica

I’m Jessica Warren, I have been apart of Harris Young Producers for over a year. I believe heritage has many different definitions, for me the kind of heritage I am concerned in is todays heritage, or heritage in the making. For the past three years I have been interested in documenting the untold histories of the working class, so giving a platform to people to have their heritage archived is very imperative to me.

Chloe

Amani

Hi, I’m Chloe. I have only been a Preston Young producer for a short time now, I was excited to join Preston Young producers as I was really interested in having the opportunity to collaborate with other creatives. During this project it has opened my eyes to what being a producer means and the roles in which that comes with it and I am excited more and more from this every day.

Outside of Preston Young Producers I study BA Hons, Year 2, Dance performance and Teaching at UCLAN Preston and have a passion for dance choreography.

I am not from Preston originally however Preston has become my home at university. I enjoy the business of the town and the option of shops (when we aren’t in lockdown), but most of all I love the beautiful hidden gems Preston offers such as Avenham and Miller Park just outside of the town which I discovered this year.

During the course of the project, I had initially been brought on,

by Hannah Whitlow - as a curator, whose interest lies in facilitating dialogue and conversation around diversity and inclusivity. Seeing as this upcoming project was surrounding heritage and the people of Preston, it seemed fitting to open the scope of conversation about who this was supposed to include and how it would be feasible to expand our usual audience representation into something more varied.

As corona worsened in the North, our chances of in house curatorial work had been limited, with access to the Harris seemingly negated, my intended role as curator somewhat evolved into being there as a means of support for the wider team. The initial attraction of the exhibition which later became a ‘project’ was to – either day by day or week by week, photograph the ever changing exhibition space having being filled with experiences and stories from visitors and participators into what could almost be noted as a story board. Filled and navigated solely by the people of Preston. Sadly, as Museum time began to worsen so did our idea of an ever changing ‘project.’

It has been interesting, exciting and at times extremely challenging finding new ways to digitise and translate our initial thoughts and proposals for the exhibition onto an online platform where the intimate participation from visitors can be lost. Curatorial work in this sense, seems impossible and the notion of curating spaces turned into a concept of curating stories. With help alongside the HYPE team, my role transitioned into helping navigate these untold diverse stories from the group and beyond. More so a role to support, it has been extremely worthwhile hearing these stories finally come into fruition.

Lockdown restrictions and how the Project adapted...

Due to lockdown and tier 3 restrictions in Lancashire, The Harris sadly had to close. Here’s how we quickly changed things up and were able to still document the project.

• All of the HYPe meetings took place online (some members who have been working together for months, haven’t even met yet because of the pandemic!)

• We created the online Preston Project Pack to send out to community groups.

• We created an Instagram account to post the incredible submissions we had received.

• We ran an open discussion and Preston Creatives Panel on Zoom.

•

We started to work on our brand new website!

• We created Instagram takeovers, stories and live polls to connected with the public and keep the project interactive.

• And we’ve developed the very Zine you are reading now! So that anyone who doesn’t use social media won’t be missing out on the project’s best bits!

Beth Nolan’s Instagram Takeover!

“I’m not gonna lie, when we had to start using Instagram as our main platform to share the project submissions and progress, I was pretty sceptical! I’m not someone who uses Instagram much and never thought I’d be doing my own Insta Takeover, but somehow, I was…

And to my surprise, I LOVED IT! It was so fun to document a day in my life just the way I wanted to.

I could be bold and creative with boomerangs and show my goofy personality with gifs! I still did all the usual things I would do like, exercise in the morning, go for a walk with my mum and, of course, drink ridiculous amounts of tea, but it also made me think more about how my heritage could have played a part in my every day.

When I looked around the park while walking, I saw that it was filled with childhood memories. I dug out some family photo albums to share with the Instagram followers; I realised that each person in those pictures, however great or small, have made some impact in my life.

They helped form the person I am today.

I was worried that bringing the project online was going to make it impersonal and loose the interaction that we wanted to create. It actually had the opposite effect!

As old school as I sound, this project has been a great chance for me to gain confidence using social media and recognise how it really can be a platform for honest, exciting, and uplifting sharing …But I’m not sure I’ll be becoming a Social Media Influencer any time soon!“

Jessica Warren’s Instagram Takeover I love to use Instagram, its one of my favourite social medias and Instagram takeovers are a great way to connect with social media followers and build a connection with them. I had never done a takeover before however I used my own social media regularly, so I wasn’t too worried about what I needed to do.

I decided to give an insight into my life as a young producer and an artist, starting with my connection to the Harris Young Producers, moving on to who I am as an artist and where I study. I then made stories of my morning routine, having breakfast, making coffee. After this I videoed myself and spoke to the audience, I did this so they could meet me in person and again build a connection to myself. For the rest of the day I just kept uploading stories and keeping everyone up today on what I was doing (mostly uni work).

The takeover was very successful, and I explored a new way of using time-lapse videos in the stories. I really like building up different sections of the stories; videos, text and GIFS, I think composing these can go really bad if you go over the top so I made sure to keep them simple but also make sure they were super fun. I’ve taken the style of story making back to my own Instagram and gained confidence to post videos on there too.

A huge aim for the project was to interact with young people and hear what they had to say about Preston. As we couldn’t actually do that within the gallery space, we took it to our Instagram stories. Throughout the month, we asked plenty of questions, using the Insta Polls, for our project followers to respond too.

It turned out to be a fun and fast way to get some insight into what young people really thought about the city and heritage!

Here are a few of the statistics: The majority of people, if they had to pick, chose the city’s parks to be the most awesome thing about Preston.

(We have to agree with that too! The parks are filled with so much history and beauty.)

Midway through the project, we asked ‘Do you think you have a heritage?’

50% were sure that they did.

However, the other 50% either did not, weren’t completely sure or didn’t know what the word heritage really meant…

(We definitely had some more work to do, to help people discover their own unique heritage!)

‘How would you describe Preston in one word?’

Here are a few of the responses…

• Centre of Lancashire • Multicultural (X2) • Industrial What one word would you pick?

Strike A Pose!!!

We asked the public of Preston to submit a photo of themselves in their favourite place in Preston, and send this to us or ‘#’us on Instagram or send it us via email to submit their pose. They were able to pose in the picture showing their interests or passions or simply just take a photo of the space.

Lockdown: Over lockdown we were unable to open the space for the public so we took it online to Instagram, we asked for photo submissions online so we were able to continue with the project instead of in the gallery at the Harris museum. (picture 3 of examples on the board in the gallery

A&B In order to give some examples to inspire other submissions for this mini project: The young producers Chloe Morrisey and Marlon Myerscough collaborated as choreographer and photographer to explore ways in which we could use our outside interests and passions to take a photo of a beautiful dancer in her favourite place in Preston which is at University of Central Lancashire Preston outside the medical centre in this wonderful open space. (picture 1 and 2 of dancer in blue)

C&D

Hannah says: ‘Over lockdown I walked my sister’s dog a lot. Even though I’ve lived here all my life, it felt like I was exploring Preston for the first time. I took this picture on one of those walks’ (picture 4 and 5 of dog and leafy path)

E Beth says: ‘I love this spot in Preston- it’s a corner of a road where my high school friends would chat after school. It’s filled with laughs, memories and reminds me of growing up.’ (picture 6 of school friends and street sign)

A

B

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Edith Rigby the suffragette Film

by Beth Nolan In 2020, Beth produced a film with The Harris about her Prestonian heroine, Edith Rigby.

“It was my aim to get the word out about Edith’s incredible life story, her fight for the suffrage cause and to highlight the positive changes she made in the city. She was proud of her home and cared about the people in it. Through creating the film, and walking in Edith’s footsteps, I now understand why I should be proud of Preston too.”

You can watch ‘Edith Rigby: The Cycling Suffragette’ over on HYPe’s website…

Here are a few production shots from this summer!

Edith was the first woman in Preston to ride a bike!

My brilliant actor friend Frankie who brought to life the strength and occasional sass of Edith Rigby!

We filmed all of Edith’s scenes in the middle of a heat wave! Frankie was a trouper; she never complained about having to wear so many layers AND push around the heaviest vintage bike in Preston! #professional

The opening shot filmed in Avenham Park. Edith Rigby (1872- 1950)

A little painting I did of Edith. You can spot one my other doodles of her in the opening title of the film which I recorded using time lapse.

Sister to the rescue! From 1910’s film extra to co-editing genius!

A Train Ride to Preston Jessica Warren Jessica Warren, a moving-image artist created a piece of video work for the Preston Project. She made the piece from her archived footage from the years of travelling from her home to university. The piece is accompanied by a subtitled style of narrative which Jessica had jotted down on one of her journeys, she often writes written logs to capture memories and moments.

The Preston Project Open call.

These are some topics you could write about: Family, Home, Preston City Centre, School, We are HYPe (The Harris Young Producers) and we are working on ‘The Preston Project’ over the next few weeks. It’s all about exploring what

We want to showcase your creative work, hear your stories and find out what

give you some inspiration!

Maybe answering this question will inspire you to write: How would you describe Preston to a visiting alien?

Preston means to YOU. Whatever you share, we will try our best to post to our Instagram as well as in the Harris Museum.

Here’s a few opening lines that could get you

After Lockdown, hopefully you’ll be able to go and see your work on the walls of the gallery space!

‘When I was little‌’

If this sounds interesting, have a look at a few suggestions of what you could submit to the project‌ We really hope you’re feeling creative and want to participate!

From a Lancashire Lass

By Josie Eckersley

how to start a poem, check out the prompts to

Heritage means to young people in Preston‌ We are inviting you to join in!

Growing up, Heritage

Reckon you could be a Wordsworth but not sure

going: ‘I am from Preston‌’ ‘Proud Preston is our slogan‌’

There’s nothing like our Lancashire home, The green hills that we call our own.

We’ve seen it all, the high and lows but what’s always stood tall is our red rose. “There’s nothing like the North� my Nan would always say, who watched it change each passing day.

From Factories and Cotton Mills, To COVID 19 and lockdown drills.

We know it’s an uncertain time right now, But that doesn’t stop our spirit somehow Cos I know that our humour can brighten anyone’s day, Just look at our national hero, Peter Kay. Humble, honest and kind we are known and our heart in which is always shown.

I’m a Lancashire lass through and through And I wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for the likes of people like you.

Check out this entry by Josie Eckersley all about what being a Lancastrian means to her!

To give you an idea of what we are looking for, here is my own submission!

The Preston Project Open Call was a way for us to build a collection of the people of Preston’s stories, memories and thoughts on heritage. We advertised this over Instagram and word of mouth and got some cool responses. We wanted the submissions to come in many different forms, such as photography, text, artworks, poems and videos.

The open call shaped our project as we got to connect with the public and discover things about Preston that we didn’t know about, it was also great to hear about what people had to say about what heritage meant to them; this was where we started to realise heritage had different meanings to different people.

We are really interested in hearing about some of

Do you have a favourite spot in Preston?

the memories you’ve made in Preston.

Maybe it’s Avenham Park, Nando’s or hey, it may

Maybe it’s a memory in the city centre, at your

even be The Harris! đ&#x;˜‰đ&#x;˜‰

favourite park with your friends, a story about a family member you’re proud of or a funny time from school‌

It might be somewhere only you know about!

Wherever it is, we want to discover some of your

Whatever it is, we want to know!

favourite places and put them on the Preston map.

All we are asking is for you to a send in a picture or

Send us a picture of your favourite spot and tell us

video that reminds you of that memory and a little

why you like it so much. It can be a selfie, an action

write up about the story so that it can be posted

shot or just a photo of the place if your

along with it.

feeling a bit camera

Equally, if you’re feeling a bit brave, record yourself speaking to camera or on voice note and we could

shy!

share that instead!

Maybe you have a piece of artwork, a sculpture or Do you have a piece of art you want to share? We will do our best to post a photograph of it on our social media and hang it on the gallery wall! We want to support you and celebrate your creative work whatever it may be.

Here is an example from Katie- she has a really quirky hobby of rock painting and did a beautiful painting of the Harris Museum‌ Check it out below!

We really hope you guys find a way to take part in

photograph that you’re really proud of. It doesn’t

The Preston Project. We can’t wait to see your

have to be Preston themed but we would love it if you could send us a little description along with your

You can submit as much or as little as you like!

work. That way it can be admired in all of it’s glory!

response.

Please send all your submissions via email to us at:

Finally- if you don’t want to submit any work or pictures, no worries‌. However, there is a very small

harrisyoungproducers@gmail.com

thing you can do that would still mean you are a part of ‘The Preston Project’‌.

Feel free to follow our insta page to keep up to date with all of The Preston Project antics! : @harrisyoungproducers And use the hashtag #ThePrestonProject

‘What does Heritage mean to you?’

And why not drop into The Harris when it reopens

and

to admire all your lovely submissions displayed!?

‘What makes you proud to be from Preston?’ We’ll add your answers to our gallery display!

Thanks for reading and carry on creating!

The Harris Young Producers (HYPe)

Take a Breath

By Beth Nolan You’re sat inside on your own missing your colleagues, your family, your friends.

Your head bowed and body limp, wondering when Lockdown’s gonna end.

You see on Facebook and Instagram the amount people are still able to achieve, So you think ‘I must be productive too -this day is mine to seize!’

‘I’ve got all this free time now, I must find something to do.’

So, you clear out your bedroom, the kitchen, the attic and your garden shed too.

You’ve dabbled in yoga, cross stitching, and chess, you started learning Cantonese.

You baked so much banana bread over these weeks, the word makes you physically heave.

Jumping on the hype, you download TikTok and even your mum joined in.

You managed to binge watch in a day ‘Love Is Blind’ and ‘Tiger King’.

Some guy called Joe Wicks became your new teacher and you ran your charitable 5KThen you suddenly have this epiphany that stops you in your way…

You’re doing what you always do- you don’t give yourself a break.

You’ve been given time which you’re trying to fill and forgetting what you need to take.

Because for thousands of unlucky people- some are close to death, and all they are wishing for right now, is the chance to take a deep breath.

Jaeger Eats From @jaegerbomb97 He’s got a unique perspective and built an awesome bakery business in Preston that we think deserves to be shouted about!

“I moved to Preston at 16 as I wanted a fresh start. Preston just felt right for me, not too busy like Manchester & London but also not isolated from the rest of the north. I remember walking through Friargate wondering if this would be where I soon called home.

After joining Preston college, I was lucky enough to stumble into a group of friends who lived here all of their lives. As I moved here alone, those friends quickly turned into my own family; they have always supported me & pushed me to do things I don’t believe I would have done alone.

Recently, this led to me deciding to start my own business during lockdown doing what I love, baking.

Starting up @jaegereats has been an amazing way for me to keep busy and productive. Its also been a way to give back to the community I now know and love. I know we are all struggling in our own way when it comes to this pandemic so, making someone smile with something as simple as a brownie fills me with a sense of pride.

Preston has now been my home for 7 years and I can safely say it was the best choice I made.”

- Jaeger, founder of his own business, Jaeger Eats.

Because breathing is so important, it’s our natural fuel.

It’s not to be taken for granted or as a bodily tool.

It’s precious and vital; so we must give ourselves time to breathe.

This is a pandemic, not a competition of ‘Look what I’ve achieved’.

So, connect with your body and be grateful for its power.

Be grateful that you’ve the ability to get up and go for a shower.

Achieve doing the washing up, and if you feel up to it then read a book; But if you don’t today, that’s okay, just be grateful for the breath you took.

“I wrote this poem over Lockdown and was so pleased that it seemed to resonate with people. Even though I’ve been in Preston a lot more due to the restrictions, it’s allowed me to stop and notice what is around

me. Preston really has some hidden gems and I’m grateful for the time I’ve had to explore them these past few months.”

- Beth Nolan, Acress, Poet & Writer

From a Lancashire Lass

By Josie Eckersley There’s nothing like our Lancashire home, The green hills that we call our own.

We’ve seen it all, the high and lows but what’s always stood tall is our red rose.

We are strong, tough and can take any banter even if you can’t understand our dialect or answer.

To “Are you from Yorkshire?”

And let’s just hope that we don’t swear.

“There’s nothing like the North” my Nan always says, who’s watched it change each passing day.

From Factories and Cotton Mills, To COVID 19 and lockdown drills.

You can’t stop the North from fighting.

Unstoppable together and are always writing History like the famous Witch Trials back in’t day, to building Britain’s first Motorway.

Hard working people we’ve always been, The friendliest accent this world has ever seen, From “Put ‘big light on, me dear” To “it looks like Blackpool illuminations in ere’ “ The belly of the North is one that can’t be beaten, Just look at all the sausage rolls and tea-cakes we have eaten.

All the delicacy’s include a vast amount Of pastry; even I’ve lost count!

From Fish n’ Chips and Blackpool Rock To the great Lancashire Hot Pot. We know it’s an uncertain time right now, But that doesn’t stop our spirit somehow Because I know that our humour can brighten anyone’s day, Just look at our national hero Peter Kay. Humble, honest and kind we are known and our heart in which is always shown.

I’m a Lancashire lass through and through And I wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for the likes of people like you.

Josie Eckerlsey “I’m Josie, I was born in Sharoe Green Hospital in Preston but lived in Blackburn growing up.

Preston is still special to me as it’s where I went to College and met my best friends.

Each Christmas, although we went to different unis all over the country, we always managed to meet back up at Twelve Tellers without fail. This year may be a little different but next year we’ll be back- I’m sure of

it! In the meantime, we’ve got the pictures to reminisce on... and the pitchers to look forward too!”

- -

Josie, poet and author Insta Handle @josieeckerlsey

You can find plenty more of Josie’s excellent poems @josieeckersleypoetry

Motte-and-Bailey (Penwortham) Wesley Wilkinson This is my world, this old Motte-and-Bailey.

This is my world, I live it daily.

The punters sat in the glitzy bars.

The petralheads revving their tedious cars.

The prosperous green country lanes.

The expanding fields, full of grain.

The Ribble that signals the settlements edge The swaying leaves of the privet hedge.

The playing fields, where we had such fun.

Parading when life had just begun.

The cemetery where it does conclude.

The habitual bench sitter, who looks so shrewd.

The omnipotent water tower, I pass on route to happy hour.

Where this week’s torments released As i find refuge in the white bricked Fleece.

The proud and tall, war memorial.

That remembers Penwortham’s sons who gave their all.

The school where once stood a priory, In past chapters of Penwortham’s diary.

The grade two listed St Mary’s Surrounded by a concrete prairie.

Where people talk about the gala, Or the newly opened beauty parlour.

For the towns prosperity is all the talk And it makes the investors pop the cork.

While we welcome this awaited evolution, Some find the bars an unpleasant attribution.

Still, this remains my world, This Motte-and-Bailey.

Still this remains my world, I live it daily.

Here Within suburban Penworth-ham Outside the city of St Wilfred’s lamb.

“Most of my childhood was spent in the rustic suburbs of Penwortham, Hutton and Longton. Even when I was young, Penwortham had undergone significant investment, this investment has since become a continuous progression, so much so that parts of the suburb have been transformed.

The increase of development that Preston has sought, in order to fill the void left by declining industry, has spewed out into the suburbs which, like Penwortham have begun to enjoy increased

growth.

Motte-and-Bailey explains the slow-paced life of the suburb of Penwortham with all its green land and pleasantry.

Examining both the heritage of Penwortham and its continuous development.”

This was just one of Wesley’s awesome poetry submissions. Go check the other one on the HYPe website and make sure to give @wilkinsonwesley a follow for more original poems!

Bruce “heritage means to me that which is given to us by our predecessors. the rich traditions of a community, like the preston guild and carribean carnival. horrockses textile company literally has history woven into it,; techniques passed down generationally resulting in a tight knit length of cotton. this i find to be a hopeful doppleganger for preston as a whole. i guess, in the most simple way, when i think of heritage i think of the families of preston exhibit at the harris.

Riffing off my previous answer, the thing that solidifies me as a proud, hopeful and sometimes naive prestonian is the quilt like feeling of multiculturalism. a smorgasbord of cultures, patched together in ways that only strengthen us. i am acutely aware of the fact my whiteness lends a particular rose tinted lens through which i view preston, choosing to focus on sunlight twinkling through branches around avenham instead of the nitrous oxide canisters that I’m walking over. i guess i say this more as a pipe dream for what preston could be, but that doesn’t mean that the seeds of this idea are not already laid, and have not already been laid long before my time.”

-

Bruce, an artist and photographer from Preston.

-

Insta handle for more of his awesome work! @contelligentxxl

Open Discussion On a cold, Tier 3 Friday night in Preston, all stuck indoors, HYPe still managed get sociable when we hosted our very own online Open Discussion! We had a super chilled and chatty conversation all about heritage and being young people in the city.

It was so nice to invite some fresh faces in, to share their passion for Preston and hearing about what makes them proud of their home.

We covered topics including our best Preston night outs, those awkward teenage years and it all got a bit wacky when we spoke about Preston’s myths and traditions!

To hear it for yourself, go check out the audio recording of the discussion, over on the HYPe website!

“I was initially a bit wary going in, as I didn’t feel close enough to Preston to be able to contribute.

However, as it went on I became so involved, and felt so included, I realised my origins and my heritage were so much wider than I had ever expected.”

-

Francesca from Leyland, Preston

“I found the discussion was such a lovely experience, so many things were discussed from people's unique perspectives. Student life (which is so apparent in a student city), to people only passing through as anyone in the UK travelling south to north has usually done, to people who are born and raised Preston.

It was so interesting to hear everyone's different opinions from how they have experienced Preston but then how everyone's experience in a way had similarities. Everyone saw the Preston people as being proud but also really friendly and diverse.

As someone from Preston I can agree and this is what makes me proud of my city.”

– Jonny from Penwortham, Preston.

The Preston Project panel Mobius Loop ‘Mobius Loop create gloriously eccentric gypsy folk stories, fusing world music and conscious rap with eruptions of free-form dance charged with an intimately powerful and intense energetic live performance. Mobius Loop are on a mission to raise positive vibrations, projecting an organic co-operative voice for humanist spirituality, vegan philosophy, grassroots philanthropy, true democracy and alchemical magic, in the name of Hemp Redemption and the infinite unknown.’

Anita George ‘I’d like to say that my art practice has changed and evolved over the past few years and today, covers a multitude of issues I feel strongly about in today’s social climate, covering what I feel are under- represented groups or subjects that some people may class as “taboo” or too politically sensitive to explore in any other discipline, but art.

These topics hit news headlines but are all too often swept under the proverbial carpet. As with many of my artworks they explore a sense of “identity”, how we all fit in to the bigger picture we call everyday life.

Identify forms a big part of my art practice and was the main catalyst that started my whole exploration and journey into art.’

Garry Cook Barry Cook is a photojournalist whose documentary photography work has covered diverse social-issues projects. Much of his work explores people in social situations and diverse themes ranging from sex and religion to racism and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

His practice, which includes cross-platform projects using music, film, poetry, spoken word and performance, aims to produce projects which are thought-provoking, engaging and easily understood. He has published over a dozen books including Marlboro Nights, Outsiders, Stay At Home Dads Are Not Welcome Here and Palestiniana.

Kerry Tenbey ‘My work explores ideas of queerness and place, focusing on intimate connections to our material surroundings. I am interested in material experience and how it shapes identity.

I have worked as a practicing artist and curator for the past five years. I graduated with a first class honors degree in Fine Art from the University of Central Lancashire in July 2019.

Since graduation, I have spent time developing my experience as a freelance curator/arts industry professional. Most recent/current roles include, Curator and project manager for a Community-led online exhibition with The Harris Museum & Art Gallery NPO, and Studio Assistant for The Birley Artist Studios & Projectspace CIC, Preston.’

Beth Wise ‘My work focuses on duration, human trace and material manipulation. I use knitting, photocopiers, concrete, foam and image making to create playful and experimental pieces that I use to talk about the themes of my practice. I am inspired by discarded thoughts, notes scribbled on library book pages, shapes I stumble upon and fragmented ideas. I graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with my Fine Art degree in 2019 and I currently create work from my studio space at The Birley artist studios in Preston.

I also exhibited some work in 'G R A F T: a show of UK young artists' at The Harris in 2019’

Beth Nolan HYPe Member

HYPe's reposnses to the panel

The Panel was so insightful and a great learning experience for HYPe, as this was the first live interview we had ever done (and we chose to interview 5 amazing creatives at once… the pressure was on!)

But it went brilliantly. The artists shared a lot of their views. I particularly agreed with Garry’s point, expressing the need for an Arts Centre in Preston. I think Preston

has such a rich history, a diverse community and the place is truly bubbling with creativity. An art space, a theatre and a music venue at the heart of the city, would be ideal- a place where Prestonians can let loose, express themselves and share their stories. Preston has so much to be proud of; we need a venue to shout about it!

Jessica Warren HYPe Member Before the Panel I was extremely nervous as it was the first time, I had taken part in hosting an event like that. However, the Harris Young Producers had worked through important questions we wanted to ask and had planned how we would take on the panel. We made sure we didn’t want it to be too structured as we enjoyed the openness of the previous zoom event, The Preston Panel Open Discussion.

I gain my confidence after I had introduced what we were doing on the panel, from then I was able to listen intuitively and ask freely.

The event overall went extremely

well, and the subjects spoken about were invaluable to the Preston Project. We had the panellist introduce themselves and their Practice, to which most of them explained their connection to Preston. After this we asked them to expand on their connection to Preston, which they all started to speak about heritage and their connection to that. Many different subjects came to the forefront of the conversations, such as accessibility issues within institutions, art and music in the public domain(pop up shows), Corvid-19’s effect on their practices and how some of them are using it within

their practice, and we also spoke about how black and ethic practices are not represented in the Harris.

I have learnt so much from this conversation which has now led on to the Young Producers opening a dialog on how we can be develop more in the future.

Amani Mitha Curator Heritage is a word that often gets misconstrued with its definition and understanding ever-changing.

The panellists were able to dissect such a complex word into something that we perceive to be the everyday, this is incredibly important to note, but it is also equally important to recognise heritage is also someone’s family lineage. In this sense, heritage should have connected with a more diverse audience so we could

fully understand and realise how peoples heritage can be ever so different.

The panel discussion was both rich and insightful, but I think – as Anita George rightly mentioned, the project itself, and thus the discussion were topics surrounding heritage and, sadly, as far as heritage goes there were only two people of colour. Albeit the conversations that ensued were

incredibly enlightening, I think, upon reflection it would have possibly been more fruitful if we could have found more diasporic artists as Preston itself is such a diverse city. No doubt, we need panels like yesterdays to facilitate these sometimes uncomfortable conversations.

reflecting on the preston project Jess

Beth Jess

Chloe

Amani

Thanks from HYPe… We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who submitted a piece to The Preston Project, supported us over on Instagram and came along to any of our online events.

And of course, a special thanks goes out to you, for taking some time to read our publication! We hope you have been inspired to ask questions and explore your own heritage.

If you found this interesting and would like to keep up to date with HYPe’s 2021 projects, follow us on Instagram and visit our brand-new website!

Instagram: @theharrisyoungproducers Website: Keep creative and we’ll see you in the New Year…

(In person, we hope!)

The Harris Young Producers #theprestonproject