NUL BID and Appetite is celebrating Newcastle-under-Lyme-based business owners and employees in their outdoor exhibition, Familiar Faces.
Appetite and Newcastle-under-Lyme BID have worked with GRAIN Photography Hub to commission Stoke-on-Trent photographer Adina Lawrence to capture the portraits in the town centre, showing the broad range of businesses available and giving them a ‘friendly face’.
The exhibition of portraits will take place from Friday 29 January to Sunday 1 August and can be seen across three sites in Newcastle-under-Lyme; on Ironmarket, on the High Street next to the war memorial, and on the High Street near to Poundland.
Appetite Director Gemma Thomas said:
“We know that 2020 and now the early part of 2021 has been a challenging time for businesses and so we wanted to use photography to celebrate, profile and promote Newcastle town centre. This specially commissioned exhibition in partnership with Newcastle BID will be held outdoors, so that people can still access and enjoy art in their local area whilst out doing their essential shopping. There are so many brilliant businesses in Newcastle, some who have been operating in the town for over 100 years, so it’s great that we are able to shine a light on them, those starting out, and everyone in-between at a time when they need our support more than ever. ”
Amy Williams, Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Centre BID Manager said:
“The BID are absolutely delighted to be working with partners to deliver this exciting project. The Familiar Faces exhibition really highlights the amazing range of businesses in Newcastle under Lyme. Now more than ever it is important to appreciate and highlight these businesses who have, over the past 12 months had an extremely hard time. The exhibition, which will be in place until August is a way of showing what a great offer there still is, despite current times. We look forward to getting lots of great feedback from the project”
GRAIN Projects Director Nicola Shipley said:
“GRAIN Projects is an arts organization that works with photographers and communities regionally and nationally. We are delighted to have worked with the photographer Adina Lawrence to support her in making this work and to advise her on her professional development. It has been a wonderful opportunity to work with businesses, retailers and traders of Newcastle-under-Lyme to celebrate the town and its retail offer and the personalities involved, highlighting the importance of town centres and high streets to our communities and lifestyles.”
Appetite, led by the New Vic Theatre, is a Creative People and Places programme for Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Funded by Arts Council England it has been enticing people in the area with accessible, high energy, spectacular work for the past 7 years. In 2020, Appetite brought the Three Counties Cubes to Ironmarket, Newcastle-under-Lyme. This year, Appetite continue to expand their programme into Newcastle with Familiar Faces.
