Menu

Open to the Public: Talk, film screening & discussion about empty buildings in Preston’s City Centre

Posted on - 26th January, 2013 - 10:01pm | Author - | Posted in - Arts, Preston Bus Station, Redevelopment, Uncategorized

IMG_5623

Advertisement

There are 300 empty or underused buildings in Preston’s city centre, Open to the Public is an art project and platform that maps all the vacant buildings in the city centre and aims to challenge the way that we look at it.

Until 1st february 2013 Unit 12 of the Guild Hall Arcade is home to a giant map of Preston’s city centre with the 300 vacant buildings blacked out, so you can see how much space is not being used within the city centre.

Advertisements
Preston Weekender advert

“This shop was empty,” says Katja van Driel, one of the artists who started working on the project last summer. “We wanted to use it as a platform to talk about this phenomenon and ask what should be done about these spaces? ”

“Since the Tithebarn project did not go ahead there have been a lot of discussions about what to do with the city and we wanted to look at the resources already there and how to open all these buildings. Maybe with the recession there are some new concepts or ideas?”

“During our research we found it hard to find places for people to meet within the city centre. Aside from the Harris Museum and Library there were not many places for people to come together so why not use some of these buildings?”

Advertisements

The project was set up by Katja van Driel and Wouter Osterholt and commissioned by In Certain Places and later this week Open to the Public invites various speakers to debate this topic at Unit 12, Guild Hall Arcade, Lancaster Road, Preston. Events are free and open to the public.

Tuesday 29th January 5pm Talk: Dr Hannah Neate (UCLAN) about Preston Bus Station

Wednesday 30th January 5pm Film Screening: Voices in the Community: Squatting and the Social Centre. After the screening Sam Lewis will be present to discuss his  film and about squatting as a strategy to reclaim space in the city.

Thursday 31st January 5pm Discussion: Preston City Council’s Head of Property Management Derek Woods will be answering your questions about the city’s empty buildings and to discuss the causes and effects and potential uses of such spaces.

For updates and programme information, email info@opentopublic.org or join Open to the Public on twitter @open_to_public.

Advertisements
barton manor gym

Main photo: Elijah McManus

IMG_5604

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share
Advertisements
caritas fostering advert
Preston in pictures 24.03.24 - Penwortham [Church of St Mary] 240323JPGDSC_7658 - Bus stationDSC_7676 - Miller ArcadeDSC_7681 - former Post Office, cenotaph and Town HallDSC_7682 - Central Methodist church, Lune StreetDSC_7668 - Fish (aka Box) MarketDSC_7672 - Miller ArcadeDSC_7674 - Miller Arcade View more Advertisement Subscribe to the newsletter

Sign up below to receive Blog Preston's email newsletter. It wings its way into inboxes every Sunday and Wednesday rounding up our top stories and more.

Advertisement News by location

Find news by location, select an area of your choice to be kept up to date with the latest goings on.

The Preston Guide

Discover local businesses and services near you.

    Advertisements
Advertisement Categories

Find news by category, select an category of your choice to be kept up to date with the latest goings on.

Blog Preston email updates

Receive our digest of the biggest and best stories every Sunday to your email inbox

We respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time from our emails