A moving exhibition celebrating Northampton’s people, places and industries has been created by talented students from Northampton College.
The Places, People, Professions exhibition features photos and artwork of around 20 notable Northampton landmarks combined with a soundscape of people’s memories of the buildings and the industries associated with them.
Students of Fine Art, Photography, Music Technology, Business, Dance and Carpentry apprentices have worked on the exhibition during the past 18 months. It will officially launch in April at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery before touring key locations, including the Royal & Derngate and Delapré Abbey.
The project has been devised by Northampton College’s Music and Performing Arts Curriculum Manager Sarah Thursby with support from her colleagues Charles Naylor, Tim Chisholm, Tracey Stanton, Chris Robinson and Mark Bradshaw.
Sarah said: “The origin of each building featured in the exhibition can be linked back to skills that are a key part of Northampton’s history, and which are still taught at Northampton College today.
“The collection looks at how places, people and professions have evolved and how they’ll continue to develop in the future – with our own students likely to play a key role in that evolution and innovation.”
Sites featured in the exhibition include the Royal & Derngate, the Performing Room, The Deco, the V&B building, Northampton Guildhall, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, Tricker’s shoe factory, Mounts Fire Station, Mounts Police Station, The County Ground, Mounts Baths, NN Contemporary Arts, Express Lift Tower, Vulcan Works, Northampton Central Library and St Giles Cheese Shop.
A mini preview of the exhibition will be held at The Creative Place on Northampton Market Square for a week from Monday, 31 March.
The official exhibition will launch at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery on Thursday, 24 April with an invitation-only event for more than 100 contributors, local dignitaries, college stakeholders and college staff and students. It will include a live performance inspired by the exhibition by Level 3 Dance students which has been choreographed by Northampton College Dance Lecturer Tracey Stanton. The performance will also be available to watch on VR headsets.
From Friday, 25 April the exhibition will be open to the public in Northampton Museum and Art Gallery’s café for three weeks.
Sarah said: “This project has further embedded our students in the local community and we’re very grateful to all those who have contributed to it, especially those who shared their memories with our Music Technology students for the soundscape.
“We hope this exhibition is just the start of the project. We hope visitors will also be inspired to share their memories of Northampton landmarks and professions so we can continue to expand the project to celebrate an even wider range of communities in our town and build an archive that can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
Visitors who want to get involved in the project will have the chance to leave their written memories and contact information at the exhibition for Northampton College.
Places, People, Professions will be the first in a series of exhibitions at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery featuring work by Northampton College students.
Learn more about courses available at Northampton College by visiting their website.
