A Preston shop in one of the city’s busiest shopping streets has been converted into a new art gallery.
AdvertisementThe Caravan Gallery has been granted the use of 3 Friargate for March to showcase the city.
Pictures of Preston, taken by budding photographers and also by Jan and Chris from the Caravan project, line the walls, along with a map of the city and a growing collection of memorabilia.
Jan Williams, one half of the duo of photographers behind the project, said: “We just want to create something that is all things Preston.
“This space is for the people of the city to show their images, the things they love about Preston and the things they hate too. All opinions are welcome here. This isn’t some marketing project.”
A photo competition has been running as part of the Preston Pride of Place Project and there’s some stunning pictures showing all sides of the city on the walls – capturing its people, buildings and lesser known spots.
“One of my favourite things is that you have a lighthouse as part of a supermarket,” says Jan, who is from Birkenhead.
“We find a lot of people see the images in the gallery and it makes them take another look at the city around them. You don’t often see a Morrisons with a nautical feature!”
A giant map of Preston is also on the wall, with the city centre and reaching up into the Plungington area and into Deepdale sketched out, with little notes added. Prestonians are free to write on the map and say what they think.
Jan and Chris are also trying to make sure they are up with the local lingo.
She said: “We’ve created the Preston Lexicon. We want to know which words are unique to the city.
3 Friargate is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10.30am to 5.30pm until Thursday 31 March. You can find out more information about the Caravan Gallery on their website.
Have you been in yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below