A series of free family-friendly art activities start at Preston Bus Station today (Wednesday 11 August).

The Lancashire Encounter has teamed up with Derelict: Art of the City to bring us ‘We Are Open’, their latest shop-based public exchange. The activities will take place in a shop situated next door to the Bus Station cafe and will run every Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm, for the next six weeks.

The shop will host six resident Lancashire-based artists who will lead the public in moments of artistic exchange, designed to stir and revive our passion and possibility for collective change in a post-pandemic world.

Read more: Micro commissions open to artists for new Lancashire Encounter shop in Preston city centre

The project leads up to and becomes part of the Lancashire Encounter arts festival so in addition to free arts activities for the public to get involved in each day there will also be information available about the forthcoming festival.

11 -14 August 2021: Molly Bland – A Grand Opening

Molly is a graphic designer, illustrator, and creative facilitator residing by the sea in sunny Morecambe, Lancashire. She works with collage and digital design to create playful responses to a wide range of briefs in graphic design, illustration, mural painting, textile design, and many other disciplines.

18 – 21 August 2021: Hannah Whitlow – Everything is Connected

Hannah Whitlow is a multidisciplinary artist from Burnley whose work explores the connection between the self, nature and each other with inspiration drawn from mythology, folklore and spirituality. In her micro-residency Everything is Connected, she plans to create a collaborative, ongoing, evolving process throughout the four days, beginning with the starting point ‘connection’. 

25 – 28 August 2021: Ellie Barrett – Museum of the Everyday

Ellie Barrett is a practicing artist exploring participation in sculpture through the use of everyday materials. Ellie will be running a pop-up “makerspace”, inviting the public to fill an initially empty space with their own sculptures made from salt dough, prompting conversations about collaborative creativity and accessibility through the handmade object.

1 – 4 September 2021: Joseph Travis – A New Perspective

Join Joseph Travis in a journey recording Preston through a forest of drawings made by himself and members of the public. Aiming to show that anyone can draw, Joseph invites you to reimagine a Preston skyline of the past, present and future. Joseph is a Lancashire artist working across a variety of media.

8 – 11 September 2021: Nia Hoffmann – Re/Emergence

Nia Hoffmann is an artist interested in people and their stories: the way we all interpret the world in different ways.

As our world begins to open up, who will you be? Choose the qualities that will inspire you and join Nia in creating a collaborative piece to showcase Preston’s collective hopes for the future.

15 – 18 September 2021: Becky Atherton – A Place for the Dryads

In the midst of the concrete is there a place for the Dryads? These female tree spirits need to be valued and worshiped. See Becky Atherton pay homage to the Dryads through her paintings and join her in making a Dryad headdress in the centre of the concrete bus station. You can also make your own Dryad headdress tree spur to wear at the Lancashire Encounter. 

We Are Open, Preston Bus Station (next to the cafe) running from 11 August to 25 September. Open from Wednesday to Saturday 10am-4pm each day. Free to attend, open to all.

For further information go to www.derelictlive.org or click on the We Are Open Facebook page.

The Lancashire Encounter Festival will take place from 17 September to 2 October. See the festival Facebook page for further updates.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines

Will you be going to We Are Open? Let us know in the comments.