Helsby Parish Council is encouraging the village's residents and community organisations to share pictures of their lockdown experiences for the new 'Helsby, the Art of Here' initiative.

Having received funding for an arts project in the village, the Parish Council acquired a display screen, through which they planned to reflect the way in which the community has reacted to and coped with the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the winter, the screen has been housed in JTO Vintage and the Old Bank Tea Rooms, and local residents passing by on their lockdown walks have been able to stop and enjoy a slideshow of images from the Ho Ho Helsby Christmas festival in 2019, as well as snowy village scenes from years gone by.

Now, the Parish Council would like to create a display reflecting all of the lockdown walks, baking triumphs, home-schooling successes, artistic endeavours and garden projects that Helsby residents have embarked upon over the past year.

Helsby clubs and societies are also encouraged to send in pictures of all that they have been up to over our various lockdowns, whether that be virtual band practices or socially-distanced rambles in the local countryside!

"Hopefully, this will progress into a project within the village community," said Helsby Parish Councillor Chris Ellams. "For example, while we obviously have a sign saying 'Welcome to Helsby' at the bottom end of the village, maybe we could have a feature which gives some insight into its history.

"Years ago, it was an industrial village with the Quarry and the BICC Cables factory, and I would like to keep that history going and have a piece of art that tells new people what Helsby was all about in the past."

To help bring some of these ideas to life, an artistic director has now been appointed to help develop the Parish Council's vision for the Art of Here project.

While ideas for the future take shape, Cllr Ellams is also planning a slideshow full of old and new photos of different spots around Helsby, laying the past and present of the village side by side.

If you would like to be featured in the latest Art of Here project, please email [email protected] with some details.

The Parish Council is also looking for a new home for the Art of Here screen. If you run a local business or organisation and would like to display the screen in your shop or building window, please don't hesitate to get in touch!