Introduction
Activations
Exhibitions
Artists
Community
Learning & Young people
Acknowledgements
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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.

Learning & Young People
Schools and Colleges

The Turnpike worked in partnership with local schools and colleges, as well as Universities across the North West to offer exciting opportunities for students of all ages.

Partnership projects included:

  • Teacher CPD: developing creative skills for the classroom through bespoke workshop activity with an associate artist
  • Creative Projects: in-school workshops, afterschool clubs and projects with Associate Artists, exploring the curriculum through artistic practice.
  • Assemblies and talks about artistic and creative careers or opportunities for students.
  • Arts Award projects, or support with running Arts Award in school for the first time.
  • Placements and Professional Practice projects for students

As well as gallery visits, The Turnpike’s schools programme invited pupils and teachers to engage with contemporary artists through workshops and projects. The programme supported cross-curricular learning whilst also offering children the opportunity to explore the language and skills of artistic practice.

As well as gallery visits, The Turnpike’s schools programme invited pupils and teachers to engage with contemporary artists through workshops and projects. The programme supported cross-curricular learning whilst also offering children the opportunity to explore the language and skills of artistic practice.

Throughout 2020 our Turnpike Associate Artists engaged with primary and secondary schools to deliver exciting and engaging visits and workshops, adapting to the new restrictions and precautions.

In partnership with WigLe Dance, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Dance Manchester we offered schools engagement workshops as part of Wigan Borough Dance Festival to coincide with Simeon Barclay’s Bus2Move exhibition.

At Bedford High School, Alan Birch worked with Year 7 pupils to develop a range of printmaking techniques and create artworks inspired by the architecture of the Turnpike Centre. Hannah Bold engaged learners at Cansfield high School in 3D sculpture and paper modelling, whilst Activations artists Helen Mather and Anna FC Smith engaged pupils at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in a monster-drawing project, the outcomes of which formed part of their commission, These Lancashire Women are Witches in Politics.

Meanwhile, Us Here Now artists Paul Pickford, Sally Gilford, Rebecca Atherton and Kate Bufton connected with pupils across the borough through exciting projects that explored a range of art forms with partners Newbridge Learning Community, Oakfield High School and College, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Leigh Central Primary School and Fred Longworth High School.

CULTURE UNLOCKED

As part of the steering group for the Wigan and Leigh Cultural Education Partnership (renamed Culture Unlocked), The Turnpike co-developed opportunities to create cross-sector lasting change for the benefit of children and young people.