High school students help Preston artist with piece of history for Harris Museum

Gavin Renshaw has created a brand new mural: “The links in the chain are of equal strength” with the help of Year 9 students from Penwortham Priory Academy and Christ the King Catholic High School.

Consisting of 10 8ftx4ft hoarding boards, the mural will feature a linear artwork with a narrative focusing on the movement through a working day, processes in the factory and moving from overseas to the UK.

It has been created to decorate the hoardings at the front of the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library whilst building work begins for the Harris Your Place project.To commemorate the history of textile manufacturing in the Preston area, the work celebrates the journeys that Courtaulds Ltd employees made, drawing attention to the diversity of the workforce that came together and continues to contribute to Preston’s rich textiles heritage.The Year 9 students took part in a series of workshops with Gavin and illustrator Toya Walker to develop key themes for the mural, creating artwork to be incorporated into the planning stages of development.

Local industrial heritage is the main focus of the mural, which features a collage of images including portraits of former employees who worked at Courtaulds Ltd factory in Preston.

Opening in 1939, the factory quickly became one of the biggest employers in Preston at the time.

Beginning with a series of oral history recordings of former Courtaulds Ltd employees, students considered their own connections to themes around migration and textiles heritage, thinking about what it might have been like to work in the textiles factories in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

They explored the history and processes of the mill through drawing, collage and mark making with ink. Following these initial workshops in March 2022, artist Gavin Renshaw developed further on the poignant messages the students identified in their artwork.

Councillor Peter Kelly, Cabinet member for Arts and Culture at Preston City Council, said: “We are delighted to support Preston artist Gavin Renshaw and the two local schools responsible for the design and creation of this beautiful piece of art which will be displayed outside the iconic Harris building.

"An integral piece of Preston’s industrial history is being captured and revitalised by a new generation.”

Alice Hellard, Heritage and Learning Officer at The Courtauld, added: "The students involved in the project responded to the brief brilliantly, making some thoughtful observations about the research material and developing a clear set of themes for Gavin to work on.

"When they visited him again during the painting process they were pleased to see how he'd put their ideas into the piece and provided some really insightful feedback."This project is part of the ongoing collaboration between The Harris Library, Museum and Art Gallery and The Courtauld.

Since 2018, both parties have been working together as part of the Courtauld National Partners Programme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.The mural will be unveiled on Tuesday, September 13 at 4pm during an event celebrating Preston’s textile heritage through local contemporary artworks.