A photographic residency has been announced for Coventry’s High Streets Heritage Action Zone in Burges / Hales Street.
The residency is part of a national programme led by Historic England and covering four cities that have High Street Heritage Action Zones (Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent, Chester and Prescot). The project entitled “Picturing England’s High Streets”, is a three-year project and is part of the national cultural programme for High Street Heritage Action Zones.
The photographer in residence will use a ‘socially-engaged’ approach, working alongside local communities, to create a contemporary portrait of England’s high streets between now and 2024. Starting immediately, the photographer-in-residence will work with local people to reimagine the high street, producing images which will become part of the Historic England Archive.
Coventry’s artist is Tim Mills, who will be working with GRAIN Projects in Coventry and local partners the Historic Coventry Trust, Culture Coventry, Coventry University, Coventry City Council and Coventry City of Culture Trust.
Tim said “From the stories of my Dad’s red velvet wedding suit purchased on the Burges, my Mum’s performances at The Coventry Theatre on Hales Street, to my Aunt providing blindfolded mystery tours of the city in a wheelbarrow during the 1950’s, Coventry has always been central to my family’s history. My work explores photographic archives, memory, community and place and what that means for our future, so I am thrilled by the creative potential of this project during a significant moment for the city.”
Tim Mills is a photographic practitioner and curator based in Birmingham. He uses photography and reappropriated archive material to explore and engage with communities and place. His work is often presented as installations within public contexts and outdoor locations. Tim holds an MA with distinction in Photography from Plymouth University and a BA with first-class honours in Photography from the Falmouth College of Art. He has previously worked at Magnum Photos New York; The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto; The Atlantic Project – a pilot for an international festival of contemporary art in the Southwest of England; and as a curator within the contemporary art team at The Box Plymouth.