RESIDENCE @ The Watch Factory
WEDS 31 AUG
A permanent exhibition resulting from a nine month photographer in residence programme with residents from the Watch Factory, an extra care residential setting in Prescot, Knowsley.
Artists Sam Batley and Marge Bradshaw have been working as photographers in residence with local residents from the Watch Factory since February of this year. The building itself and the residents who live there bring a rich social history of the local area. Originally the home of the Lancashire Watch Company, the factory is a significant part of Prescot’s local history and was converted into an extra-care scheme in 2018. Some of the residents remember the original factory and had relatives who used to work there so the building represents the very fabric of the residents who still reside in it today.
The artists and residents have been looking into the area’s past, their personal connections to it and also their role as ‘watch factory custodians’ of the space today, all through experimenting with different photographic styles and techniques including creative writing, film and digital photography, cameraless photography (creating lumen prints and cyanotypes) and mixed media collage. By sharing stories and leading the process, the group have asserted their identity, made new social connections and gained photography skills in the process, resulting in a sense of community.
A series of works produced will be exhibited both as a temporary installation within the public facing spaces of ground floor, alongside more permanent framed works situated throughout the building as a legacy to the project and for future generations of the Watch Factory to enjoy.
Work created by Watch Factory residents Brenda, Cathy, David, Dot, Freda, Jane, Marie, Nelly, Peggy. With thanks to volunteers David Hiney and Eleni Karypidou. As a legacy to the programme the artists and Open Eye Gallery will be supporting the group to continue running the project as a self-sustained photography club for Watch Factory residents as well as people from their local neighbourhood. We look forward to seeing how their photography skills and passions develop in the future.
Image: Marie Cyanotype
WEDS 31 AUG
A permanent exhibition resulting from a nine month photographer in residence programme with residents from the Watch Factory, an extra care residential setting in Prescot, Knowsley.
Artists Sam Batley and Marge Bradshaw have been working as photographers in residence with local residents from the Watch Factory since February of this year. The building itself and the residents who live there bring a rich social history of the local area. Originally the home of the Lancashire Watch Company, the factory is a significant part of Prescot’s local history and was converted into an extra-care scheme in 2018. Some of the residents remember the original factory and had relatives who used to work there so the building represents the very fabric of the residents who still reside in it today.
The artists and residents have been looking into the area’s past, their personal connections to it and also their role as ‘watch factory custodians’ of the space today, all through experimenting with different photographic styles and techniques including creative writing, film and digital photography, cameraless photography (creating lumen prints and cyanotypes) and mixed media collage. By sharing stories and leading the process, the group have asserted their identity, made new social connections and gained photography skills in the process, resulting in a sense of community.
A series of works produced will be exhibited both as a temporary installation within the public facing spaces of ground floor, alongside more permanent framed works situated throughout the building as a legacy to the project and for future generations of the Watch Factory to enjoy.
Work created by Watch Factory residents Brenda, Cathy, David, Dot, Freda, Jane, Marie, Nelly, Peggy. With thanks to volunteers David Hiney and Eleni Karypidou. As a legacy to the programme the artists and Open Eye Gallery will be supporting the group to continue running the project as a self-sustained photography club for Watch Factory residents as well as people from their local neighbourhood. We look forward to seeing how their photography skills and passions develop in the future.
Image: Marie Cyanotype
