Exciting Exhibition Set to Launch at The Potteries Centre

Stoke-on-Trent’s popular shopping destination, The Potteries Centre, is showing its commitment to evolving its retail space as it hosts a creative and exciting community youth exhibition titled Tomorrowland.

The free exhibition, based at the centre on the upper mall next to HMV launches from Saturday 1st May, at 10am with a focus on rebuilding the future, it is one of many youth-led projects put together by arts organisation Urban Wilderness.

The exhibition’s launch comes off the back of the centre’s recent commitment to support the local community and independent organisations across the city by offering interactive, innovative and independent spaces for visitors to enjoy whilst shopping and dining.

Alongside fascinating photographs, will be a subtitled video of the project in action, which involved twenty year seven students from Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent, who live in Burslem and Middleport. The students worked together just prior to the pandemic to build a small house from reclaimed materials, and learnt to use tools, develop their teamwork skills and explore what home means to them. The highlight of the exhibition will be their reconstructed ‘den’ which, standing at 4m high, will be exhibited at the space until June.

Amy Whittaker, General Manager at The Potteries Centre, is looking forward to welcoming Urban Wilderness. She said:

“We were introduced to this incredible organisation via the Stoke-on-Trent BID and we supported them on a previous exhibition, Diverse Landscapes, that enjoyed huge success, highlighting the ethnic diversity and natural beauty of Stoke-on-Trent.

“We were keen to partner with them again and were excited to hear about their latest project. It’s support for the young people of Stoke-on-Trent that makes this project such a perfect fit for the centre, and, as part of our ongoing commitment to provide something special for our visitors, we jumped at the chance to provide space for this fantastic exhibition.

“The launch date coincides with Staffordshire Day which was no coincidence. We all agreed that as Tomorrowland celebrates the skills, teamwork and creativity of young people in Staffordshire, this would be the perfect day for people to enjoy it for the first time.”

Isla Telford who co-directs the organisation alongside her colleagues, Laurel Gallagher and Jenny Harper, is excited for the collaboration with The Potteries Centre:

“We were delighted when The Potteries Centre offered to support us again. It is perfect for our needs and the staff there are always really helpful. We’re launching the exhibition on Staffordshire Day to celebrate how innovative and creative Staffordshire’s young people are; they are the future of Stoke and Staffordshire and we’re thrilled to showcase their work. We have also partnered up with the City Centre BID which has been incredibly supportive in helping us as we move towards our launch.

“This mirrors the support we have had from people in Stoke-on-Trent as a whole. Everybody is always really friendly. The young people we work with are really funny and enthusiastic, they’re just up for getting stuck in.

“This exhibition is a massive achievement for the children. Even before Covid-19 hit, many young people were faced with having to make their own entertainment and these projects are about harnessing that and turning it into something positive. The goal is to spark their imagination, and empower them to build their own future.

“As well as welcoming visitors to come and view the exhibition, we are also inviting young people to be inspired and find out how they might be able to bring their own creative ideas alive with funding of £200 and ongoing support from us.

“We have lots of great projects and workshops in the pipeline and are proud to be a part of a new wave of high street innovation in creating a more experiential and creative day out. The possibilities are endless.”

The exhibition launches from Saturday 1st May, 10am – 1pm and will be open for visitors all day, every day until June.

To find out more about the exhibition visit https://urbanwildernesscic.com/workshops.

If you are aged 14-24 years old and would like to find out more about how to apply to take part in the project to see your own creative idea come to life, you can visit https://urbanwildernesscic.com/tomorrowland.

Alternatively there will be a QR code in the exhibition window that you can scan to go straight through to an easy to fill out application form.

To find out more about The Potteries Centre, visit http://potteriescentre.co.uk/

Tony Walley
Tony Walley
News & Sport Editor

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