The Turnpike CIC was a bold, independent not-for-profit arts project with community at its heart, based in Leigh, Greater Manchester.

This web archive, titled Could this be paradise? reflects on our 5 years in Leigh, highlighting the community voices and artists who have worked with us to shape our organisation.

We want to say a huge thank you to our Turnpike family; the team members, volunteers, artists, community members, peer organisations, funders and supporters who have invested their energy, creativity and ingenuity with us over the years.

Activations
Drift: Niki Colclough

Over several months, artist Niki Colclough has been working with members of the local community to explore walking as a creative practice. Niki has designed a process-led project that has unfolded slowly depending upon the people she has met and where they have taken her. There has been an ever-growing working group for the project who have been testing how creative walking can be used to maintain both physical and mental wellbeing, as well as offering a way to connect with people and places in unexpected and surprising ways. Using psycho-geography, observation, conversation and movement - our mutual aim is to uncover the overlooked and the unseen; celebrating the narratives and culture that already exists in Leigh.