Opening 22 March, a major new outdoor exhibition called Picturing High Streets tells the stories behind our shopfronts. It celebrates our high street heroes, captures familiar scenes and invites audiences to consider the value and role of their local high street. 

The exhibition is part of a three-year project by Historic England and Photoworks, in partnership with national and regional photography organisations, to create a contemporary portrait of England’s high streets.

The Picturing High Streets exhibition will tour towns and cities across England, opening in Prescot this month.  It is available to visit, for free, from 22 March – 23 April in Prescot Shopping Centre.  The exhibition showcases a selection of photographs from thousands submitted by the public documenting and celebrating the high street of today. The photographs, which capture high streets from across the country, are displayed in windows throughout Prescot Shopping Centre and include work by local residents, facilitated by photographer-in-residence Tony Mallon.

Since 2021, Tony Mallon has been working with local Prescot residents to reimagine the high street and create a contemporary portrait of the area. A final exhibition of work will be displayed this autumn on the high street and at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, who have co-commissioned the project and have been working in partnership with Historic England and Photoworks.

This exhibition is part of Historic England’s £95 million government-funded High Streets Heritage Action Zone scheme, breathing new life into high streets across England.

At a time when our high streets are continuing to change rapidly, this exhibition invites the public to reflect on the purpose of the high street. It also considers the history and experiences of the people and places that make up an often-overlooked fixture in all our lives. From lively market traders to reflective coffee drinkers, friends meeting up in favourite shops to individuals taking walks, light festivals to nights out – the winning images show the stories behind the shopfronts.

Including street scenes, portraiture, candid shots, architectural photography, special effects, black and white formats and documentary styles, this new collection celebrates photography in all its forms. It includes photographs from a great range of participants including from young people in workshops, amateurs using camera phones, artists, camera clubs and professionals.

The national winning 65 photographs have been crowdsourced from more than 1,000 public entries and will tour towns and cities across England from today. The images will be shown alongside works by resident artists in ten locations around England, meaning that the exhibition will change to reflect each location it appears in.

Since September 2022, people across England have been responding to themed fortnightly challenges, from “high street hang outs” to “bright lights to dark nights” and submitting their photographs on Instagram under the hashtag #PicturingHighStreets.

All entries create an unofficial archive documenting a year in the life of the English high street on Instagram, and the winning photographs will also enter the Historic England Archive, the nation’s archive for England’s historic buildings, archaeology and social history.

Tony Mallon, photographer-in-residence, said: “The Picturing the High Street Project has provided the opportunity for local residents to come together and share their memories and stories of the high street. Photography walks have revealed, for many, Prescot’s rich and hidden history. The participants have expressed that the high street should still be the beating heart of our town centres and have been enthusiastic about capturing a slice of social history – photographing shoppers, shop owners and the buildings and spaces they frequent most days to shop and socialise.”

Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive, said: “It was a joy to judge the images submitted by the public, each of which reflected its own way the true importance and spirit of England’s high streets today. The range and volume of images submitted shows just how much the high street still means to us all, and this exhibition captures a moment in the everyday life of the high street. We’re thrilled to be bringing these images to high streets across England in different forms in our largest outdoor exhibition to date.”

The full 65 images can be viewed online. They were judged by designer and retail expert Wayne Hemingway MBE, artist Camille Walala, Clear Channel UK’s Marketing Director Ben Hope, Director of Photoworks Jonathan May, and Historic England Chief Executive, Duncan Wilson.

The public can continue to submit their photographs to respond to a fortnightly challenge that uncovers the secret life of the high street, posting their own photographs on Instagram using #PicturingHighStreets until 30 September 2023.

The high streets cultural programme is the widest-reaching, community-led arts and heritage programme in the public realm that has ever been organised, led by Historic England in partnership with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Follow @PicturingHighStreets on Instagram and post your pictures using #PicturingHighStreets. The national outdoor exhibition will open March 2023.

Picturing High Streets will be appearing on Clear Channel’s digital advertising screens around England from March 2023 onwards.