Rachel Grant: Inside Out - Opening Event

Rachel Grant - Inside Out

On Monday 22 October we met Rachel Grant at her home in Hanley. From there, we took a short walk to the streets and homes awaiting demolition in the Wellington Road area, site of Rachel's artworks which will be fixed to the external walls of empty homes on Monday 29 October.

At the end of the walk, we looked through Rachel's sketchbooks, details of which are shown below and in-between landscape shots we took on our walk with her. Extracts from our interview with Rachel follow each triptych.

"I went to the archives and traced various people that lived in the houses that are now gone and did interviews with them. I like to place a time within my pictures so that when you look back, you'll be able to see exactly when I was talking about. In years' time, people are going to look back and bulk it all together as 'this was a time of regeneration'. But I like to pinpoint more clearly through my work what happened at what stages."

"My position being here is that minor things are more major to me. I can now section off certain stages of regeneration such as the first stage before Renew came in, then the second stage when clearance areas started to be declared, and now we're in the section when people are moving out before the redevelopments start."

"Not as many stories were as painful as I thought they would be. A lot of the people I've talked to have already been through it and I see it as a kind of grieving process and a loss that they have to go through. And they do come through it to the other side. But for older people it's much more difficult. It's hard for them to think about the benefits of this to future generations. Their future's coming to an end and they can't see 20 or 30 years down the track."

You can find out more about Rachel's work and opening event at the Dresden Street Community Centre on Monday 29 October here.

Tour of Regeneration Areas

We were at the Renew offices on Trinity Street on Friday 12 October and met Place Space & Identity artists and Renew programme managers responsible for the regeneration strategy in Hanley, Meir, Burslem, Newcastle and Coalville. Following an overview of Renew's plans for North Staffordshire presented by Phil Brundrett, we headed out for a mini-bus tour of the affected areas. First to Newport Lane in Burslem, where an eerie quiet hangs over rows and rows of boarded up terraces awaiting demolition.



In the back alleys we came across two demolition workers, Roy and Mike, knocking the walls down of an abandoned terrace.

"We've been asked to knock these walls down but to be honest
can't really see much wrong with them." Roy & Mike

Amongst the rows of boarded up terraces, occasional signs serve as a reminder that people continue to live here. Even the Cathedral Church Of Our Lady Of Grace asserts its existence with a panel on its front lawn (below right).

Then, we headed for Meir, an estate of 1700 properties containing 60% social housing. Here, Phil Brundrett explained the potential he saw in the area.

"If people are dying to move into areas like Congleton and Macclesfield
because of the greenery, just think what we can do here." Phil Brundrett

From Meir, we headed to the City Waterside project, described by Renew's Mike Sidebottom as "our jewell in the crown." The City Waterside website describes the development as "a pioneering urban neighbourhood in the heart of historic Stoke-on-Trent. Set on 120 acres (50 hectares) of land in a unique landscape - it will become home to a thriving, sustainable, mixed community."

Artists Impression of City Waterside

City Waterside under construction, with tour group in the background

City Waterside is the result of John Prescott's Design for Manufacture Competition challenging the housebuilding and development industry to create high-quality homes whilst reducing construction costs to around £60,000. The motivation is to provide first-time buyers with the opportunity of getting onto the housing ladder, even if they're very small properties. As Prescott said in 2005, "My £60,000 home competition has proved wrong those critics who claimed you can't have both quality and quantity. People deserve decent, affordable homes with good access to jobs, public services and green spaces."

Introduction

Commissioned to document the Place Space & Identity programme, Liz & Mishka will focus on the relationship between artists, funders and the public between October 2007 and March 2008. To contact us, write to info@common-eye.com

Place Space & Identity Launch Event

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Introduction

Commissioned to document the Place Space & Identity programme, Liz & Mishka will focus on the relationship between artists, funders and the public between October 2007 and March 2008. To contact us, write to info@common-eye.com