A Workington Art Trail will aim to showcase what the area has to offer and bring people into the town centre.
Artwork will be installed in windows of selected shops in and around Washington Square, accompanied by a digital map and information to help visitors enjoy and learn about each piece as they go.
Three artists have been chosen to create innovative artwork with community groups in Workington for the trail, which will run between November 29 and the end of February 2025.
Cumberland Council has commissioned visual artists Alison Critchlow, Melissa Davies and Rosie Galloway-Smith to produce artwork and deliver creative workshops.
Workington Art Trail, in combination with Workington Sound and Light Show at Workington Hall, is an Arts Council England and Cumberland Council funded project.
It is also supported by Workington Town Council.
The artists will be working with Cumbria Deaf Association, Victoria Junior School and Moorclose Community Centre.
The trail will be launched on the same weekend as the sound and light show at Workington Hall.
A digital map which will launch closer to the time to take people around the artwork.
Alison Critchlow is a painter with a studio in Bowness on Solway. She trained at Falmouth School of Art, Cornwall and has been a professional artist for 30 years. She has exhibited widely throughout the UK and has work in several public and private collections.
Since 2017 she has worked closely with Wordsworth Grasmere on various projects.
In 2021 she was awarded an Arts Council England grant which saw her working with mentors in the UK and the USA. The project led to spending time at the Hedda Sterne Foundation in New York, which opened her eyes to a whole new set of artistic possibilities.
Alison said: “I’m thrilled to bits to see this project happening in Workington – it’s innovative, inspiring, forward looking and great to see Cumbria leading the way with new approaches to arts engagement. I believe passionately in the power of art to inspire and uplift- it can be a means to navigate difficult times- this is important stuff.
“I am delighted to be working with members of Cumbria Deaf Association – as a group, we will explore how colour works, how it affects us, and how it communicates beyond words. To share our experiences and ideas, refresh our ways of seeing, dig a little deeper into sensory perception and ignite creative sparks in Workington – what an inspiring project and a real privilege to be asked to make these paintings.”
Melissa Davies is a poet and creative facilitator working with the idea of place and connection to our environment.
Her first collection The Arctic Diaries was published by Arachne Press in 2023 and is an attempt to preserve the oral traditions of a single fishing community in northern Norway.
Often Melissa creates work for display, rather than publication, and her poetry has been exhibited or performed around Cumbria, Yorkshire, London, Portugal and Norway.
Alongside this creative practice she co-creates communal poetry through workshops and call-outs for organisations such as Kendal Poetry Festival, The National Trust and School’s Eco-awards. Melissa is based in Cumbria and Arctic Norway, where she manages a creative retreat.
Melissa said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of a project that celebrates not only the community but also the environment of Workington. As a poet, it’s exciting to be harnessing the natural creativity of local people. This is artwork about them, by them and belonging to them. My role is simply to draw out what’s already there!”
Rosie Galloway-Smith is a contemporary artist who specialises in painting and installation work. Her work is concerned with emotion, and she uses clothes and other everyday objects to try to express complex feelings around identity and experience.
Her best-known public commission was an installation of a washing line of clothes at Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House in Bowness on Windermere, with each garment bearing hand drawn patterns that depicted the experience of Cumbrians in lockdown.
Rosie moved to Cumbria aged 12 and grew up as part of a large Catholic family in the Bewcastle area. She studied at Cumbria College of Art and Design, Hull School of Art, University of London, and Glasgow School of Art. After living in Portugal, Spain, London, Canada, and The Azores, she is now permanently based in Carlisle and lives with her husband and two cats.
Rosie said: “I am excited to be part of such an interesting community project that allows artists to work closely to Workington locals as well as give a personal artist response. I am looking forward to seeing how the whole event comes together along with the light show and I have enjoyed greatly participating in the Jury For Joy gathering.”
