Creative community walk
A Creative Community Walk held in Longport and Middleport on June 22, 2019, was attended by 15 people, including 2 children. The workshop was co-led by Ceri Morgan and visual artist Nicola Winstanley, with additional contributions from geographer, Deirdre McKay. Participants took photographs, film, made sound recordings, drawings, notes, charcoal rubbings, and gathered found objects. We discussed art and Stoke, and the partial or failed gentrification of Longport.
The Council’s clearance programme of 2010-11 featured ambitious regeneration plans that saw the large-scale demolition of vernacular accommodation, but the global economic crash meant that much of the housing was never replaced. The walk ended with the co-curation of an exhibition at the Waiting Room Gallery, Longport. The exhibition was refined and enlarged throughout its two-month show (June-August, 2019). Visitors added to it by contributing thoughts and memories of the area via writing in a book artefact. The exhibits comprised creative writing, photography, film poetry, installations, sketching and painting.
- Keele Academic Lead: Professor Ceri Morgan
- Methods used: Geopoetics, visual arts
- Lead partner: Nicola Winstanley
- Other partners: The Waiting Room Gallery, Longport (hosted event and accompanying exhibition)