Discovering Chelston

Fred Gray discovered something about his local area on his early morning walks whilst shielding during the pandemic, becoming acquainted with lanes, steps, buildings and streets; absorbing the character, names, nuances and patterns. His project ‘Chelston in lockdown - a sleeping beauty’ is an invitation to local people to look at their neighbourhood with fresh eyes and to share their experiences and discoveries with Fred about the place just beyond their own doorsteps.

Fred is an established fine artist who has also worked commercially including creating backings for Aardman animation films. In this project he is turning his extraordinary visual eye to reveal new views of Chelston and its tumble of different architectural styles and buildings. Drawing on local people’s contributions, Fred will be creating a series of paintings to share these neighbourly perspectives on Chelston, inviting local people in to see the process as it unfolds, and exhibiting the final works at an exhibition in October.