an urban mosaic.

an urban mosaic.

Colin Lorne

an urban mosaic.

Engaging artistic visions for

Kidderminster through walking and

instant photography

Project led by Colin Lorne

All the quotations and

photographs created

for this booklet have

been produced by

artists and creative

people in

Kidderminster.

Without their input,

there would have been

no research.

An Introduction

This collaborative project worked with artists and creative individuals in order to take a different look at Kidderminster. By combining art and geographic research, we sought to explore what ideas, possibilities, stories and alternative visions could be brought to the town’s ReWyre Initiative regeneration plans. This was achieved by engaging artistic imagination in a unique way.

Cultural and creative arts projects have become increasingly popular within British urban regeneration schemes over the last decade or so. In particular, there has been a surge of interest in encouraging artists to work within community-led projects. I wanted to try something a bit different,

something which provided artists with a greater capacity to be autonomous, reflective and even critical about aspects of Kidderminster’s town centre. Rather than sitting and talking in an office, each artist was asked to lead me on a tour of ‘their’ Kidderminster. They decided where we went and therefore no two walks were the same. Each artist was handed a Polaroid instant camera. This was to help the artists frame their thoughts and to think carefully about the built environment. It also made the research process fun.

The name ‘an urban mosaic’ was influenced by David Hockney’s use of Polaroid photography to assemble a large collage of photographs which transcended singular perspective and

scale. Similarly, I hoped the Polaroid camera would help to represent a multitude of thoughts about Kidderminster whilst shaping a narrative for the project.

The artists weren’t asked any set questions. There were no rules determining what was to be photographed and discussed and I had no idea what ideas would unravel throughout the walks. The act of wandering around the town was the prompt for discussion. For some this was a chance to celebrate Kidderminster’s histories, for others it was a form of “walking meditation”. We talked about buildings, graffiti, the people we bumped into, carpet manufacturing and the once-overwhelming smell of sugar beet as just a few examples.

Twenty people took part in these walking interviews between autumn 2010 and spring 2011. The definition of ‘artist’ and ‘creative’ was never defined in order to draw in a wide range of perspectives and voices. However, everyone who took part knew Kidderminster, either through living or working in the town. The project involved shared experiences and events. Whilst I may have set up this work, each walk around the town was a co-creation between geographer and artist, even if our identities were increasingly blurred over the course of each wander.

This research started off as work for a project at the University of Birmingham. However, through

meeting people working on the Re-Wyre Initiative for regeneration in the town, these words and images were re-used several times to reach out to a wider audience and to provoke new discussion. The work was used in a ‘pop-up’ consultation event on Blackwell Street, Horsefair, one of the areas planned for redevelopment. Later it was displayed in the more formal setting of the town gallery where all the photographs were stapled to a big map of Kidderminster to present all the research together. Finally, this booklet has been produced as a way of recording these ideas and stories in a more permanent way.

About Kidderminster

Kidderminster is a town with a population of over 55,000 and an average age of 39 (UK Census 2001). It is within the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is roughly seventeen miles to the south-west of Birmingham and fifteen miles north of Worcester.

The town has a rich carpet industry heritage including ‘Brintons’ manufacturers which were founded in Kidderminster in 1785. The industry has been hugely influential upon the local economy as well as the built environment in the town centre.

“Well, you’ve got to have

progress. You need to

create new things, but at

the same time to lose

something is tragic,

especially something

that has a lot to do with

history. History is one

thing you can’t buy. You

can’t put a price on it.”

“This is the Wyre Forest,

this little area! It’s a

lovely spot and it gives

you that sense that

nature matters, but it’s

lost by a road and fence.

They are definitely

imprisoned organics and

they ought to be allowed

to break free.”

“This is my favourite

building. It’s so different,

it’s stuck here amongst

all these horrible

buildings but it’s like it’s

making some kind of

statement as if to say

“you’re not getting rid of

me that easily!” I’ve

always loved it.”

“...a lot of what

Kidderminster has got

that is really nice is

above eye level. I think

there’s a need to look up

and then you see...

they’re really beautiful.

Don’t you look a lot

prouder when you’re

looking up?”

“This building is just

amazing. If you look up

it’s got a domineering

character… not in a

threatening way, but an

old man with something

to say.”

“You can’t see in, they

can’t see out. You could

have had a beautiful

square by the canal side

and look what you’ve

got... there’s a canal, can

you see the canal?”

“If you stand here and

look at that shape that

runs through and just

admire the college, it’s a

gorgeous keyhole shape

and I’m always aware of

it every day, it’s there,

it’s a little bit of a relief

from the rest of this

which is a dreadful,

dreadful space.”

“The underpass is like

an abattoir to walk

though, it’s so inhuman.”

“The ring road has to go

round the town not

through it”

“...there are all sorts of

people coming through

and the regular users

protect it. I think Subway

Deluxe instilled a bit of

ownership... It was about

the people rather than

just the place.”

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all the artists and

creative people that took part in the

series of walks. Without your time and

effort there would have been no

research project, booklet or

exhibitions.

Thank you to Loz Sameuls for all the

help arranging many different aspects

of the project, as well as Jane Puzey

and everyone at MADE*, Jayne Bradley,

Joe Holyoak, Phil Jones (the transport

planner), Matthew Barker and Wyre

Forest Council for exploring new ways

of listening to and communicating with

the people of Kidderminster.

Significant hanks to Phil Jones (the

geographer at University of

Birmingham) for all the

encouragement, advice and

supervision throughout the research

process, as well as Jamie Peart and

Kevin Burkhill for helping with the

Polaroid stock and exhibition prints.

- Colin, July 2012

About the author

Colin Lorne is a Doctoral Researcher in

the School of Geography, Earth and

Environmental Sciences at the

University of Birmingham.

His research interests relate to

architecture, urban design and

regeneration, in particular, how people

engage with and shape spaces over

time.

Interests also seek to incorporate

innovative research methodologies,

original ways of using research beyond

the academy as well as questioning

what geographers do.

Contact

Email: cal747@bham.ac.uk

or colinlorne@gmail.com

Telephone: 07929 364707

Look back at the research process at:

anurbanmosaic.wordpress.com

For current research about buildings,

working and the ordinary, as well as

random musings see:

colinlorne.wordpress.com

Cover photo by Luke Perry Colin Lorne 2013