A Stockport artist has breathed new life into a frequently discarded object as part of a huge art installation for the Stockport Town of Culture Creative Weekender.
His colourful hubcap-based pieces are on display in a huge outdoor art installation on Chestergate, which is part of events and celebrations happening across the town centre at the Stockport Town of Culture Weekender on March 23 and 24.
Nick Entwhistle started the side-project after spotting a discarded wheel trim by the side of the road and saw it as an opportunity to combine his love of art and cars in a unique way. He began to look out for more to paint in his free time and says he found that it was a way to improve his mental well-being by providing a creative escape from the stressful world of social media and advertising – the industry that he has worked in for over 14 years.
Aside from his art, Entwhistle is an award-winning creative director, responsible for viral campaigns for the likes of WWF and the NHS, and founder of the Bank of Creativity. He also runs a thriving creative community called One Minute Briefs and has 150,000+ followers across his various social channels.
Entwhistle began to see more potential in the wheel trim project and created an Instagram page featuring a gallery of his final photographed pieces, along with pictures and video reels documenting the behind-the-scenes progress of each piece of artwork.
As the project grew, so did the need for more hubcaps. The artist put a call-out on the ‘Stockport For Sale or Swap’ Facebook page to see if anyone had any lying around in their garages or sheds. Milesmore Tyres, of Hazel Grove, got in touch to say they had a huge stockpile of wheel trims that could be transformed.
As the project gathered momentum on social media, Entwhistle teamed up with Stockport Town of Culture and the local community to grow the campaign, creating a stunning piece of up-cycled wall art out of something unwanted.
Former Stockport College student Entwhistle said: “With every project I do, I think of a line that someone once said to me… ‘What’s the best that could happen?’
“I believed I could turn a silly art project, that my mates thought I was mad for doing, into something much bigger. I invited local artists to take part and paint a wheel trim and was blown away by the response. From ceramics, to poetry, from acrylic paint to collage, you’ll find that each wheel trim has a unique design and its own personality.
As momentum grew, I was even invited to decorate the main stage with the art at the British Motor Show. It’s been hard work to get this far, but the huge support of Stockport Council, the local art scene and trades has been incredible.”
Local art groups including Grit Studios, Stockport Art Guild and Vernon Mill Artists have all submitted wheel trim artwork for this Creative Commission, but it’s not just Stockport artists that have taken part. Local community organisations have also been involved; ‘Pursuing Individual Excellence’ @pieuksocial had their young people take part in a workshop hosted by Nick, as did ‘Make Build Grow’ @makebuildgrow_cic whose SEND young people were able to show off their love of cats through art. And, to encourage people to check for lumps in support of @breastcancernow, @lindi.kirwin created a breast-themed wheel trim.
Once completed, each wheel trim created by the art and community organisations is finished off with a coat of lacquer donated by Rooney’s Body Shop.
Wheel trims created by Nick, local groups and artists are exhibited on the huge external installation at Chestergate Taxi Rank, built with help from FenceWays, in time for the Big Weekender, featuring exclusive collaborations with various local artists.
The two-day Town of Culture celebration, which marked the end of the Stockport’s Greater Manchester Town of Culture status, saw the town come together to host more than 50 free events and activities at 25 locations across the town. The Merseyway Centre host more than 600 music and dance performers, with footfall up by a whopping 47% on Sunday and 14% on Saturday. Record numbers of visitors also headed to the town’s museums and art gallery, including the Air Raid Shelters, Stockport Museum and the newly re-opened Hat Works Museum, with more than 5,000 people taking advantage of free entry.
