Street pARTy celebrates the power of creativity in a free pop up event. The event, a venture between Morecambe BID, the Arndale Morecambe, and Deco Publique, will take over Victoria Street for one day of making art, with free workshops and art experiences for families and visitors – a vibrant atmosphere and true celebration of creativity. On Saturday 28th July, the spacewill become a hive of creative activity that celebrates new street art and invites families to join the party and make art.
In 2015-16 a series of street art pieces appeared on Victoria Street, commissioned by The Morecambe Town Team – a partnership involving local businesses, Morecambe Town Council and the Lancaster & District Chamber of Commerce. The Partnership successfully bid for £100,000 of Portas Pilot funding in 2012. The street art project, curated by Deco Publique, producers of Morecambe’s Vintage by the Sea festival was launched with a pop-up Street pARTy which returns again this year with further mural themed workshops.
The installed artworks created a visual journey that documented heritage stories from Morecambe’s rich history and present-day themes. The location of the work was central to the artistic vision as Victoria Street was the home to the local newspaper for over 100 years until 2014. The murals have been inspired by local newspapers topics such as sports, entertainment, local life, heritage; and historic local stories. The artists’ work includes large-scale murals, mosaics, sign writing and illustration.
This year again 5 drop-in art workshops will be linked to each mural. The event will bring accessible and free art experiences that engage residents and visitors to Morecambe, in the resort’s first town centre art festival.
Art workshops have been designed to give anyone the opportunity to try their hand at creative practices. Artists have devised accessible and fun sessions that will all be completely free of charge and will allow people to take home their own crafts or to contribute to large-scale artworks. Workshops have been commissioned to specifically relate to the new pieces of public art on Victoria Street, giving the community a chance to experience the skills and techniques that have been employed by artists to create the public art.
Workshops will include a Retro World Cup poster making session with Charlie Kondras which coincides with the Sporting Heroes mural. Mosaics of local entertainers Thora Hird and Eric Morecambe will be celebrated with a try your own mosaic session.
Other workshops are themed around seaside pinwheels, fridge magnets and bird feeders. Alongside the art, workshops will be live music and performance, with an opportunity for buskers to showcase their talents.
John O’Neill, Manager of Morecambe BID, commented: “It’s great to see Street pARTy back again a couple of years after the original. It’s a fantastic community event, and the idea is an attempt to emulate the community feel within a town’s centre. Over the last couple of years, the town centre has been rejuvenated with a lot of public realm money, and we should make the most of it.
“We should celebrate our towns and local shops. Morecambe is gathering a reputation for great, inexpensive shopping – especially vintage – and attracting more and more quality independent stores, and businesses. There’s a good feel about the place.”
