House facing demolition is turned into piece of art

By hharp

A TERRACE house awaiting demolition has been transformed into the setting for a new art project.

Hanley-based artist Rachel Grant has used the property in East Terrace, Fegg Hayes, as a base for her latest piece of work called Living Room, which aims to explore the topic of community in a regeneration area.

The textile artist has transformed the downstairs living area of the property into a display of textile pieces, photographs and objects valued by the community.

Members of the community helped to put the exhibition together and are now being invited to look around inside.

People who visit are also asked to write down how they define a community.

The 32-year-old said: "It has been great to really get to know people and the area through the project.

"I am hoping because it is artwork produced and exhibited in the community that people will come and see things and question the community and their experience with it."

A series of sound recordings play in the background of the exhibition.

Birmingham artist Helen Barrow, aged 24, who worked on the sound part of the project, added: "There's a collection of very different sounds from the community including demolition and noises from the community centre.

"I think the demolition sounds are quite violent compared to the sound of children singing but it works well."

The exhibition is part of the Place, Space and Identity 2 programme run by Newcastle-based B arts and supported by organisations including Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Renew North Staffordshire.

It is the second year that the programme has been running in the city and Mrs Grant's project is the third to be unveiled this year.

Work on it started three months ago and has seen Fegg Hayes residents taking part in weekly knitting sessions to produce materials.

Denise Cooper, a 61-year-old, who lives on Rivington Crescent, said: "The project has been great for getting the old people out and meeting others. It is beautiful."

B arts director Susan Clarke added: "Rachel is a really exciting local artist.

"One of the reasons she is in the programme is because we wanted a mixture of artists with different perspectives and she is very skilled at capturing things that are going to be lost."

A total of 61 properties in Oxford Road, East Terrace, West Terrace, Johnson Place and Fegg Hayes Road are to be demolished after being deemed structurally unsafe.

The exhibition at 6 East Terrace opened to the public yesterday and will run until April 4.

It is open between 10am and 2pm every day apart from Sunday.

Place, Space and Identity 2 is a £100,000 programme that incorporates a number of projects.

Those unveiled so far include plastering thought-provoking phrases on public buildings and buses.

A series of other projects are expected to be unveiled throughout the year.