Picturing High Streets was a three-year project delivered by Photoworks to create a contemporary picture of England’s high streets through artist residencies and a public call out. It was part of the High Streets Heritage Action Zones Cultural Programme, and produced in partnership with GRAIN Projects, Impressions Gallery, Open Eye Gallery, London College of Communications, Photofusion, QUAD/FORMAT, Redeye, ReFramed and The Photographers’ Gallery.
From September 2022 to September 2023, people across England responded to themed fortnightly challenges and submitted their photographs on Instagram under the hashtag #PicturingHighStreets. All entries created an unofficial archive documenting a year in the life of the English high street on Instagram, and a selection form this permanent collection in the Historic England Archive.
This photograph was selected to represent the theme ‘Hidden Histories’. The brief for this theme was: ‘High streets hold many secrets. The photographers have uncovered histories that are often hiding in plain sight. They show us if you look up, you’ll be rewarded with architectural details and quirks that hint at a building’s past.’
The photographer wrote the following text to explain how their image relates to this theme: "The most recent name on this shopfront, Something Special, was painted over when the business closed but appears as a ghostly reminder of its past. Duncan Street, a main thoroughfare in the centre of Leeds, was named after Admiral Adam Duncan, 1731-1804."
This is part of the Volume: HEC01/128/02/05 Picturing High Streets: Mass Participation Project - Hidden Histories; within the Sub Series: HEC01/128/02 Picturing High Streets: Mass Participation Project; within the Series: HEC01/128 Picturing High Streets; within the Collection: HEC01 Historic England
© Robin Maurice Barr
Photographer: Barr, Robin Maurice
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