Town to become open air gallery

The Counterpart trail features 28 works by 12 artists from all over the country who have each created or loaned work tailored specifically to individual locations ranging from the town’s library to its waterfront jetty.

Arranged by Fylde Council to coincide with the Lytham Festival and set to run to August 15, the trail has been jointly funded by Arts Council England’s Grants for Art programme, the Arts Partnership for Fylde and Lytham Festival.

It follows an axis with Lytham Square at its centre, stretching from Park View 4U to Lowther Gardens, Lytham Hall to the waterfront.

Christine Stringfellow, Counterpart’s lead artist who lives in St Annes, said: “We are hoping to surprise members of the public who come across them as they go about their day.

“However, for those who would prefer to actively explore the trail, a map and brochure highlighting the locations and details of each artist’s intervention will be available to pick up from the Lytham Festival Hub in Lytham Square, Lytham Library, Park View 4U, Lytham Hall, Lowther Pavilion and Booths, Haven Road.

“Each artwork will invite the public to consider Lytham in a different way, either by offering an alternate and thought provoking view about the site in which it is installed or by revealing little-known or little-seen aspects of our social and natural history and our connection to the wider world. There really is something for everyone and we hope people will be curious, explore and enjoy.”

The works range from sculpture to painting, printmaking to drawing, photography to collage and include items such as We Were Here, by artist collective TEA, a series of large scale photomontages presented as postcards and souvenirs which merge familiar scenes from Lytham’s past and present, Story Time by St Annes-based Kate Eggleston-Wirtz, using a grandfather clock as a foundation 
to explore inspirational stories.