Kirkstall Art Trail commissioned an artist to work with The Vicarage’s residents over the summer. The Vicarages are a number of back-to-back terrace houses with cobbled streets, with washing lines reaching across the street from house to house. The artist was briefed to collaborate with local residents to create a large scale work that would be displayed on their streets during the Art Trail.
Joanne Michael, the artist facilitator said this about the project, “This project aims to explore and celebrate the unique lived experiences of individuals residing in almost identical terrace houses. These houses, often seen as uniform from the outside, serve as a canvas for the rich and diverse stories of their inhabitants. Informed by community workshops, conversations with residents and observations, white t-shirts that were donated by locals have been decorated to reflect the stories of the Vicarage’s inhabitants. The final installation utilises the traditional clothes lines between the houses on opposite sides of the road, celebrating the idea that shared connections between residents can be fostered through the identification of common ground, over the backdrop of daily life.”
Below is a gallery of the installation and work in progress. The Vicarages was Venue 26.
About the artist facilitator, Joanne Michael. “I am a neurodivergent creative who is passionate about blending the Arts, Science, and Community in innovative and playful ways. My work fosters community involvement, playful research and invites people to think differently about the world around them. The Vicarages project is a celebration of individuality within the collective.”