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The Shop of Priceless Things
Artists unveiled their masterpiece last Friday forming the next step in putting art in the heart of Rotherham town centre.
The Shop of Priceless Things can be found on the corner of Howard Street, the former Burger King unit, and was created by visual text artist, John Wedgwood Clarke, and art & design expert, Adrian Riley.
John Clarke explained the concept for the piece: Imagine a window covered in text of the kind you see advertising different brands. Only in this instance, the text would not be fashion logos but about something that cannot be bought or sold like a memory, or a family saying, or the scent of wood smoke, wild blackberries, the sound of rain in a gutter...
The priceless things were all donated by Rotherham shoppers providing vital inspiration for the project.
The work forms part of Rotherham Borough Councils Meanwhile Project, led by its Town Centre Management Team, which aims to bring life and footfall back to the town centre by improving the look of vacant units throughout the town centre.
The councils Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Planning and Transportation, Cllr Gerald Smith, said: It is great to see so many different approaches being taken to improve the look of these buildings whilst they remain empty. Long term of course we want to encourage investors with the business grants we have on offer to open them up again as shops, but for now it is gratifying to see such individual skill and flair going into temporarily improving the look of the vacant shops.
The project follows similar efforts made to dress the former Marks & Spencer and Music Zone units, on College Street, and the former Bay Trading unit, on Effingham Street.
Also this week Rotherhams very own home-grown international lighting artist, Mark Fell, has launched his spectacular exhibition in the Old Market development, off Corporation Street, lighting the way for Christmas 24 hours a day.
Rotherham College of Arts and Technology hope to have an attractive display of its Art & Fashion students work ready for the Ashwoods unit on Bridgegate by Christmas.
