Put your words in lights on Chalton street. Businesses in the area spoke to Euston BID to say more lighting is needed – and in a lightbulb moment, the idea came about to install not only more lights, but an artist’s lighting installation.
Robert Montgomery, well-known artist of word art installations, is collaboration with the People’s Museum is pure poetry: preserving a sense of history and place in a contemporary realisation. And we are delighted to announce our first patron!
You can get involved – we are asking the community to contribute.
Your words in lights? Come to the Poetry Workshop ready to write OR send your poetry to info@aspaceforus.club.
For as architect of St Pancras housing Ian Hamilton said, “why should ordinary people not have things of beauty?”
Poetry workshop
Saturday May 13th 3-5pm at People’s Museum 52 Phoenix Rd, NW1 1ES
Here’s what they say:
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with The People’s Museum and Camden Unlimited on this important community art project. The People’s Museum are redefining what museums are and what museums can be – built from the ground up by talented and committed local people to give a voice to hundreds of years of social and radical histories in Somers Town, the People’s Museum is a world class example of how a radical museum can give new breath to living history. Together we will find poetry in the streets.”Robert Montgomery
Euston Town Bid
Euston Town BID is directing its funding to supporting and celebrating the cultural gems of the neighbourhood which have shaped its character and heritage. Chalton Street is no exception, filled with unique independent businesses that hold such importance locally, and public spaces that welcome the community to dwell, explore and connect. Sandwiched between two significant developments, this is a special place that is holding on to its independence and identity when the trends elsewhere in London dictate otherwise.
The purpose of the lighting scheme is to illuminate the public realm in the evenings, activating spaces to enable people to use them freely after dark. Incorporating the art of Robert Montgomery and the historical knowledge and commitment of the People’s Museum means this is not just lighting, but an imaginative platform for story telling which will immerse visitors in a fascinating piece of London’s history whilst engaging local people in telling their own stories through poetry. We aim to draw new footfall to Chalton Street’s wonderful array of businesses and create a new artistic landmark for the area.Euston BID. Camden Town Unlimited
Camden Town Unlimited | Euston Town
The People’s Museum is delighted that Robert Montgomery has agreed to be its first Patron and this times with their one year anniversary:
“The People’s Museum is pleased to be working with working class urban poet Robert Montgomery to light up Chalton Street – making a space for the ‘radicals, reformers and un-common peoples’ histories of this area! “
Poet Patron
Montgomery hails from a family of Scottish coal miners, who, throughout the 1900s, mined the coal that was sent to the King’s Cross coal drops via canal and train, once fuelling the city.
The light poem, Montgomery says, is about the magic of London and its ‘many layers of history’, which he believes to be both an ancient sacred burial ground and a trading post simultaneously.
The sculpture was written on Christmas night, in memory of his uncle – the last coal miner in his family – who died on Christmas Day last year. It was installed on Burns Night in a nod to generations of Scottish immigrants who lived in and around King’s Cross.
Robert Montgomery’s work in King’s Cross:
