Glossop Creates was launched to the town and the wider public last December and, since then, we have been involved in several projects which champion and nurture Glossop's artistic and creative community.

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‍What are the pairings projects?  

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With the aim to develop a deeper engagement with the town, we are pairing up three local creatives with a different theme including artitural heritage, textile heritage and the landscape. The Pairings artist residency programme enables the artists to carry out deeper research that helps to celebrate Glossop's distinctive characteristics, heritage and communities. For each of the pairings projects, the artists will create something - a public installation, an exhibition, a podcast, or a film - that will inspire different generations to connect with Glossop, whilst nurturing our creative community and develop future ideas for the town. The artists will be paired up with a project, depending on their talents and interests.

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The residency programme, curated by our Director, Claire Tymon, will invite the artists to develop ideas and creative methodologies whilst creating high quality, locally relevant work that opens doors to our cultural heritage and provides alternative perceptions of Glossop.  

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‍Spotlight on Richard Knox and the Town Hall Project

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‍Richard Knox of Dark Peak Press is one of the three artists that have been commissioned by Glossop Creates to take on a Pairings project. Here, Richard explains more about his theme and his project which looks at Glossop's Town Hall...

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"After working closely with the team at Glossop Creates on the Love Glossop Support Local campaign, I'm delighted that the team has commissioned me to work on a project focusing on Glossop's Town Hall. This work will fall under their new "Pairings" project which connects local artists to a theme.  

"The Town Hall features as part of the "Architecture" brief which takes an action-research approach to develop ideas and creative methodologies whilst creating high quality, locally relevant work that increases local engagement with culture and enhances external perceptions of Glossop.

By now, I'm sure everyone is aware that the Town Hall is undergoing some major renovation and development work to create a more useful and modern space at the heart of the town. Personally I think this is an exciting moment for Glossop and having a cultural focal point that is functional and servicing the community at large is vitally important to the identity of where we all live.  

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"The "Pairings" project I am developing will acknowledge the history and heritage of the Town Hall while focusing on this transitional period between old and new. I'd like to connect what the place has been in the past and what it will become in the future. Inserting some of my art and print practices into the project, I intend on creating artwork from the structure of the building and the shapes and textures it holds, combining this with field recordings and research material. The idea is to create an exhibition from this work in the future and hopefully find ways that the outcomes could be used in the refurbished space once it is open.

"I would also like the community to be able to participate in the project and I‚Äôm looking for submissions of drawings, sketches, illustrations or paintings of the Town Hall that I can develop into a large scale art piece over time.  

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"If you are interested in contributing to the Town Hall project, or if you have any interesting information, pictures or history to share, please email me at darkpeakpress@gmail.com."

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We will be delivering activity about the Pairings Project at the Heritage Open Day on Saturday 18th September at Victoria Hall.  Lauren Riley and Richard Knox are creating displays for each of their projects, and we are inviting people to come along and have conversations around textile and architectural heritage.  If you would like to attend, please email hello@glossopcreates.com for further information.

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