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Saturday 10th July Promises To Be A Very Special Day For Kirkham

Saturday 10th July promises to be a very special day for Kirkham as its historic past will be celebrated with a series of fantastic new art installations being unveiled in this historic Fylde market town.

In addition, this special Saturday will see a new Artisan Market arrive in Market Square and the Annual Kirkham Funfair in full flow on Memorial Park, together with a celebratory moment in the town’s status as one of Historic England’s High Streets Heritage Action Zones (HS HAZ).

For the past six months Kirkham’s Cultural Consortium has worked with artist Alex Blakely to create Kirkham Treasures – a series of community engagement projects – that have led to the design of a number of interactive art installations. These will all be unveiled on Saturday 10th  July and will include:

  • The Talking Wall which is made up of a series of images from Kirkham’s past that come to life as viewers scan a special QR code next to each picture. These codes are linked to audio recordings of local people talking about a specific memory of Kirkham.
  • Passage of Time– a series of glasswork art created by the students of Carr Hill High School.
  • Kirkham Through Time is a map created by students from Kirkham Grammar School revealing many locations and stories of Kirkham’s historic past.
  • ‘Peep Hole Boxes’ are situated around town and allow viewers to delve inside a particular period in history.

Residents and visitors can also take up the challenge of the Kirkham Quest, learning about Kirkham’s history while interacting with the artwork. Answers to this challenge may be placed into a special prize draw to win vouchers worth overall £150, to spend in local shops. Entry forms, Kirkham bespoke shopping bags and copies of the ‘Kirkham Through Time’ map will be handed out on the day from the Kirkham Treasures stand on Market Square (between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm).

The day marks the successful end of the Cultural Consortium’s six-month HS HAZ pilot project. Now, thanks to a new £80,000 Historic England grant, the Consortium’s work can be widened to create far more creative opportunities over the next three years.

Helen Juste, Kirkham Cultural Consortium’s Cultural Producer, proudly said, ‘Saturday July 10th is the culmination of six months hard work by the Cultural Consortium which is made up of representatives from local business and passionate local residents all keen to see Kirkham flourish. It has been great to see the community really get on board and celebrate the town’s wonderful heritage. Artist Alex Blakley has facilitated an activity programme to provide everyone with the opportunity to get involved and this has resulted in the creation of some amazing interactive artworks. We’ve had a fantastic response to the workshops and everyone who has engaged has had a great time, enjoyed learning about local heritage and contributed to the creation of the town centre artworks. The community has been truly central to their creation so it would be brilliant to see as many people as possible there on the day.’

Flier for the up-and-coming Kirkham Funfair:

Turning back the pages in Kirkham’s historic past:

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