Almost 450 artists and schoolchildren from the Blackpool and Fylde Coast are currently showing why the Grundy is Blackpool’s art gallery and a key civic host to the local creative community.



Following hot on the heels of one the gallery’s most successful exhibitions to date: ‘NEON: The Charged Line’, which was visited 12,000 times and had people travelling from across the UK, the gallery currently has a tour de force of art from the along the Fylde Coast, allowing visitors to see the broad range of artistic talent bubbling away in the region.

Five exhibitions in one

The Blackpool Art Fayre includes five separate exhibitions in one. The first is the ‘Blackpool Open’, in which any artist currently making work in the local area was invited to participate.

Next there is an exhibition staged by the Blackpool Art Society, which has a history dating back over 130 years and is one of the oldest such societies in the country.

For the third exhibition the Grundy invited artists from one of Blackpool’s newest arts organisations, Abingdon Studios, which is already establishing a growing reputation in the North West and across the UK through its exhibitions, studios and support for emerging and established artists living and working in the local area.

Over 300 youngsters involved

The fourth, and one of the largest parts of the Fayre, is a major exhibition produced by 13 school and community groups from around Blackpool’s. Over 300 schoolchildren and young people have created new drawings inspired by Blackpool’s Illuminations Archive and the history in the town. Blackpool was one of the first in the UK to utilise this new light technology in the 1930s.

The Grundy facilitated workshops and drawing activities asking the young people to make their own versions of the original early drawings and designs for neon artworks. The incredibly diverse and creative results are given their own gallery within Blackpool Art Fayre.

The workshops encouraged the children to explore the social and historic context of the local area and this was the first time most will have exhibited their creative work in a gallery. For the teachers, the activity made connections between art and culture and numerous other aspects of the national curriculum, from science and technology through to language and history.

Old Favourites

The final part of the Blackpool Art Fayre included two exhibitions using the Grundy’s permanent art collection. The first assembles ‘Old Favourites’ and the second brings together new artworks that have been acquired in the last few years, in particular surrounding its new strand of collecting light-based artworks recognising the town’s history with light.

This was a starting point for the Grundy’s recent acquisition of a key neon work by leading British artist Tracey Emin – the first purchase the gallery has made using an award by national charity the Art Fund to specifically buy light-based artwork by international artists. The gallery was awarded £80,000 by the charity, alongside similar awards to the British Museum and National Galleries of Scotland as part of their ‘New Collecting Awards’.

Damien Horton, teacher at St John Vianney’s Catholic Primary School, said: “It was really good to see the children’s artwork near to recognisable artists like Tracey Emin. Also, it was good to see the different styles of art (sculpture, media, painting) so that the children are aware of the different types of art and it’s not just drawing and painting.”

One ten year old pupil from St John Vianney’s said: “I liked looking at my art and at different art of other people. I liked drawing and sketching. I have never seen the art gallery before so I would show my family, if my mum let’s me.”

Cllr Luke Taylor, Lead Member for Arts on Blackpool Council, said: “The Blackpool Art Fayre is a fantastic showcase of the diverse creative talent across so many of our communities. It is wonderful to see such enthusiasm from both budding and established artists.

“I would highly recommend a visit to the Grundy to see all the imaginative works on display. I took my family to visit last weekend. The kids loved the illuminations drawings and the neon lights. My wife and I really loved the art from the local residents especially the ones of Blackpool scenes."

Grundy Curator Richard Parry said of the Blackpool Art Fayre: “One of the thrilling things has been to display so much amazing art from both the artists and schoolchildren who live in Blackpool and the Fylde Coast alongside the work of nationally celebrated artists such as Tracey Emin and Yinka Shonibare MBE.

“The exhibition is a coming together of the various strands of our work, from our impactful outreach work with schools to the highly successful contemporary and light programmes, which have brought in upwards of £500,000 of investment, and helped secure a further £5m in government funding for the town. The Fayre is a real testament to the talent and inspiration here in Blackpool.”

The Blackpool Art Fayre runs through until 18 March 2017