Lockdown creations in Fleetwood recognised in Creative Lives Awards for resilience, imagination and innovation

The creative team who put together the Inside Out exhibition in Fleetwood with their runner-up award in the People's Choice category of Creative Lives

Organised by Leftcoast, the Inside Out Exhibition was placed runner up in the People’s Choice category of the Creative Lives Award at a prestigious ceremony held in Coventry.

They were pipped at the post by a London project which turned a former derelict garden into a public community space.

LeftCoast’s artist in residence, Gillian Wood, worked with local residents throughout 2020 to curate the exhibition, which opened its doors a year later in June 2021.

The gallery, which was situated on the top floor of the Old Fleetwood Hospital, brought together the community through creativity and showcased what people living in the town had been producing behind closed doors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Artists involved in the exhibition made the journey to awards ceremony and were delighted by their achievements.

Tina Redford, LeftCoast’s Artistic Director, said: "Congratulations to the Inside Out team, who were named England’s runner up at the Creative Lives Awards. The recognition of Gillian Wood and Fleetwood’s local artists is thoroughly deserved, and we couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.

“LeftCoast and our volunteers had such an amazing time at Coventry Cathedral, and it was an absolute honour to be in the same room and nominated alongside such brilliant organisations."

Creative Lives is a registered charity which champions community and volunteer-led creative activity. And the People’s Choice award stood for resilience, imagination and innovation. The success came through a voting process.

Gillian Wood said: “It’s fantastic for the artists because it’s recognition for their work.

“A lot of people hadn’t ever exhibited before, so it was quite a big thing to take those pieces of work from your home and put them up on the wall and be brave enough to show them to the wider public.

“But the artists really took that in their hands and have done amazing installations themselves.”

The exhibition emerged from Gillian Wood’s pandemic project Scrub Hub, which saw a group of local sewers make scrubs for NHS workers during the first lockdown.

The group discussed other work they’d been creating, such as paper flowers, colourful headdresses, needle felted creatures, knitted worry dolls, and pouring art.