Have you developed a creative skill, revisited a skill you fell out of love with or just didn’t have time for anymore? We want to hear from you about your work for a new exhibition celebrating creativity discovered during lockdown.

The Covid 19 pandemic and lockdown has been a testing time for most. From the health of our family and friends, household budgets to food shopping, there has been a lot to worry about. However in the midst of this churning sea, there has been a quiet resilience, people had found different ways to cope with the uncertainty. The people of Fleetwood, and surrounding areas, have been busy. They have been planting, making, baking, cooking, taking photographs, knitting and sewing.

Since setting up the Fleetwood scrub hub, sewing scrubs for key workers, locally based artist Gillian Wood has been talking to people about the wave of creativity happening across the town. We are often told that culture is something that only happens in the museums and galleries of our cities, away from small towns and regions, however lock down has shone a spot light on the wealth of creativity happening on our doorsteps. 

We want to celebrate the rich skills of Fleetwood. Whether you have crocheted a blanket, grown a pumpkin, painted a picture or bake amazing cakes. The work doesn’t need to be about lockdown, we want to show en masse what a productive and joyful town Fleetwood is. You don’t have to be an expert sewer or a master baker, we are interested in all levels of creation.

As artist Rob Ryan said,

‘I thought about it in my head and I felt it in my heart and I longed for it to happen with all of my body and soul, but I made it with my hands.’ 

We are planning to exhibit the riches produced here in early November. If you would like to be included in the exhibition (or if you would like to nominate a friend or family member who might be too modest to do it themselves) please get in touch.

We would like to know:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Age
4. A couple of lines about what you make. You can submit something that you have already made, you do no need to produce a new thing.
5. How long you have been doing it
6. Some pictures if you have any to help us visualise what you do

You can email your work to insideoutexhibition@gmail.com or phone Gill on 07956 788477 if you would like a bit more information.

The deadline for submissions is the 30^th Sept.

Work submitted will be looked at by a small group of local people to help us select what would sit well together in the exhibition.

The only guidelines we are following are:

1. We would like to hear from people with no formal art school training
2. You live within 5 miles of Fleetwood
3. You are happy for your work to be shown in a public exhibition