helen dearnley - lincoln, uk

Helen Dearnley aka Blackbird has sent in her beauty spot - it is the bench at the top of Steep Hill in Lincoln, with a great message.
A lovely place to sit and feel good.

kate rowe - stoke-on-trent

So, the first set of Beauty in the City photographs of 2009 have come in! They are from Kate Rowe, and are actually from Stoke-on-Trent. Kate has also sent in the reasons why she has chosen her various beauty spots.

"The Railway Station is my favourite place of underestimated beauty in Stoke-on-Trent. It is not merely a beautiful, solid, red bricked facade, but a building that palpably exudes feelings of collective (nervous) excitement and keen anticipation.

It is such an anachronistically civilised and comforting place - even at its Hen/Stag party worst!

All is possible as you wait at the platform, just around the corner, coming at you at high speed (late?). There are arrivals of friends/family/strangers and film-like, tearful goodbyes. You are never rendered quite do distraught saying goodbye to someone leaving by car! Oh, the romance! You see, it is less a building (which has barely altered through generations of family visits) and almost entirely the atmosphere.

A disparate collection of people sat waiting, feet twitching to leave/return, are afforded a rare chance to think - the chance to escape! There is nothing to do but wait, read a little and accept someone else's timetable for a while. It is an artificial world, a gateway, a place of limbo between cities, between lives.

Stations can be the coldest, most brutal places to sit, I admit. The wind slices through them and a maudlin, comforting melancholy often cuts the blood in your veins. Sat under a high, domed roof, in a little holding pen of hushed voices, suppressed emotions and averted gazes; waiting and hoping: what a comfortingly British experience!"

So I have sent off for the Global 'There is Beauty' postcards, and some more magnets and now just waiting for them to arrive.
So far requests have been coming in from a number of people in London, Derby and even Darwin, Australia...but so far we only have photographic proof from Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester and Prague. We have however received word of one magnet, making a trip by barge from Lincoln to Bath; and has so far been seen in Nottingham, Oxford and Banbury...we await photographic documentation with excitement...

THERE IS BEAUTY IN THE CITY GOES GLOBAL!!!

We have received news that the 'There is Beauty' magnets have found there way across the sea to Europe, and this seems like a great chance to open out the project, and GO GLOBAL!
The people of Stoke-on-Trent and all those involved in the project were so positive about the experience that it seems a shame not to open the project up, and see the response from Cities worldwide.
I will therefore be setting up a Facebook group, which anyone will be able to join in order to provide information and a chance to copy the Magnet template, or send in for one of the magnet packs.
You can click on the magnet template above, and then print it off yourself: the orignial magnet is 3.5inches X 2 inches.
Watch this space for more developments...
The facebook group is now open: and called There is Beauty in the City. Sign up now!

wayne thexton - stoke-on-trent

Artist Wayne Thexton has joined the project! And here are Wayne's beauty spots in the city...

Poppies and Chives

Feeder

Umbrella Lines.

Wood.

Wayne is currently working on some fantastic projects of his own around the city - RISK sees him working with other artists and some pupils from James Brindley school in Tunstall. Read more about the project on the blog.

Unicorn - stoke-on-trent

Yes, there really is beauty in the unicorn - and a fine pint of ale too...
I happened to see one of the magnets on the till in one of Hanley's oldest pubs. The Unicorn is well worth a visit if you are in Hanley, it is on Piccadilly - slap bang in the middle of the cultural quarter. Great atmosphere, friendly barstaff and they have a great collection of Royal Doulton toby jugs hanging from the ceiling - a true potters pub!

michael callan - stoke-on-trent 4

Yes, some more images from Michael Callan, who has been wandering the city with his new camera. He has provided descriptions for why he finds each particular spots special.
Library Limestone: The staircase in The Central Library, Hanley, is finished in polished Crinoidal Limestone. These creatures, related to star fish and sea urchins but resembling some corals, lived in shallow tropical seas up to 350 million years ago. Ancient building materials for a modern building.
Fountains: Hanley Park from Avenue Road

Number 1 Adventure Place: Ever since I could read I’ve coveted this address. Wouldn’t it be wild to say you lived here?

Pagoda? : The Potteries Centre Car Park

FOREST PARK:
This area once composed of three large spoil heaps (yes three) from Hanley Deep Pit dominated the view from several of my childhood homes. 'The Hollies' were composed of predominantly black shale with some red shale and littered with burning tarred rope ends (don’t know why) which children were told were weird smoky snakes that would eat through your feet if you strayed onto the slopes. When the Aberfan disaster happened they became even more grim and brooding. Below are illustrations of the contrast between that past and this present.

Birches Head: View from the top of the Forest Park with Birches Head in the foreground and Eaton Park in the background. The reverse of the view from my teenage bedroom window.

Etruria and Hartshill: The low part of the forest park in the foreground then Hanley Etruria and Hartshill. Concealed in the haze Keele which can be seen on clear days.

Tunstall: The view of Tunstall from the top.

Skate Plaza: Now I know where to find my son at any time during the weekend.

Moorhens 1 & 2: On The Forest Park Lake which prior to regeneration was an area of gullies and pools where local children would trespass and go dipping for newts and frogs. (Sorry Mum)

Steel Tree: The new approach to the Forest Park.

Steel and Real: See above.

Steel and Real 2: ditto

Thanks so much to Mike for his absolutely fantastic response to the project.

katie shipley - stoke-on-trent

Katie May Shipley's beauty spots - the allotments on the corner of Wellesley Street and College Road.

A beautiful patch of daisies: you know it's summer when...
The church at the end of College Road.
These photographs have a really lovely saturated quality - like photographs from the 70's. Thanks for those Katie.

michael callan - stoke-on-trent 3

Michael Callan has been out and about in the sun he says 'I hiked over to Bedford Lock, in Shelton on the Cauldon Canal. It was a really hot day. I could remember a piece of very witty graffiti on a nearby wall from a year or so ago. As I got there the City Works' truck was just pulling away having finished pointing the wall and scraping it clean!
Rather than waste the trip I took these.'

nic hilditch - manchester

Nic Hilditch's images represent the 'There is Beauty in the City' magnets first project outside of Stoke-on-Trent - yes, we have travelled to Manchester!
Nic provides us with some of her favourite spots around Manchester - how exciting!

kate lynch - stoke-on-trent

Kate Lynch has sent in four images of the Campbell road allotments which she describes as definitely her favourite place in the city. She says
'The images show the contrast between the urban environment and the allotment plot, for example the use of plastic orange roadwork mesh to support runner beans!'

michael callan - stoke-on-trent 2

The one above shows the green fist grafitti, which can be seen from the canal - and also when taking the train into Stoke from the West.
This one is the toddlers' play area in Hanley Park which Michael says of this one 'I liked this because the water motif on the fence reminded me that when I was a toddler in the early sixties this area was a paddling pool.'
The above (Steel Arch) and below (Steel Graffiti) images are taken of the sculpture outside of the Kings hall in Stoke, by Artist Liz Lemon.

'Sweet Knives' was found on the railway bridge that goes over where the Green fist is.
'The narrow straight alley at the rear of Twyfords running from the canal towpath near the Etruria Industrial Museum to Garner Street. The end is hidden behind trees so not many know it's there.'
And 'Buds of May.'
Above is 'Twyford's Back Alley, and below is 'White Star - Stoke' which was taken on the day the pub opened, Kingsway Stoke (formerly The Gordon.)

andrew branscombe - stoke-on-trent

Andrew Branscombe - the other half of the AirSpace gallery team has been out and about in Hanley finding his chosen beauty spots. This one looks like the staircase to the new sun terrace at the Sugarmill.
Above - an alleyway in Hanley and below a very unusual doorway.

Above - another alleyway and below - an advert for the Circus of horrors!

The cannon above looks like it could be one of the brass ornaments in hanley's best pub for a real ale - The Unicorn!
And finally Andy catches some ladies outside the gallery on a Saturday night.