Independent Cinema for Everyone

For the Looe Street Detectives project she has worked with a team of collaborators to unearth historical facts and anecdotes about 38 Looe Street and the immediate neighbourhood. The Detectives’ investigations into personal connections and specific interests in the area have led to a new understanding of Looe Street and the vicinity.

For this exhibition, Bowler has drawn together the Detectives’ findings and created an installation that reflects them. You can gain an insight into the centuries of history contained within this small area of Plymouth whilst navigating the work in the Window Gallery. For the development of the exhibition, the artist was also influenced by the postwar era of Looe Street; the activities on offer at the Virginia House Settlement and an archival image of Plymouth Arts Centre’s 1951 exhibition, marking the Festival of Britain. She will also extract evidence from our archive to present in our Restaurant Gallery.

The Looe Street Detectives are a group of Plymouth residents, aged from 9 to over 70, including local residents and those who have recently moved to the city. The project is the Plymouth strand of Engagement Network – a partnership programme between engage (the National Association for Gallery Education) and Visual Arts South West. This pilot project placed artists at the centre of research around how the visual arts sector addresses key issues in audience development and engagement.

Support from Councillor Chris Penberthy’s Community Grant fund has enabled people who live in the area to engage in this project. The project has also been supported by the ARC research group at Plymouth University, Plymouth & West Devon Records Office and Plymouth Central Library.