Finchley Art Trail - Case Study

Background

In late 2022, make:good completed a 12-month project to create a cultural programme along Finchley Central’s High Street. We recruited and supported a local cultural producer to deliver a range of activities, including an art trail where local artists were partnered up with local businesses to showcase their work, to create more relationships and network and also to encourage local residents to visit the High Street.

Process

We were engaged by Barnet Council to host a series of community events and following input from local residents we settled on delivering 2 art trails, 2 local markets, and other creative workshops between Autumn 2021 and Summer 2022.  

We used Finchley Central Town Centre’s mailing list, Instagram, Facebook and a dedicated project website to invite artists and creatives to participate in the art trails. In addition, we also visited local businesses to pitch the idea and gather interest. Linking up with local organisations and partners allowed us access to their networks to help spread the word. We also used the list of local organisations (incl. charities, societies, etc), and contacted local colleges and universities to encourage participation from emerging artists and creatives.

We started to collect examples of artists’ work, titles, descriptions, biographies, price (if selling) and social media handles. Once there were artists and businesses signed up to participate, we set up a curatorial panel to shortlist artists and artworks, and to match artists with businesses. As part of the process, participating businesses also got to select their chosen artwork and artist and to confirm where they would like to hang the work. When the final artwork per business was agreed and all artists were notified, we started to look at the logistics of printing and hanging of the artworks. 

To launch the trail, we invited all participating artists, businesses and the public to walk the full length of the trail, ending with coffee together at one of the local businesses, to chat about their works and the trail.

Output The first art trail ran from Nov 2021 to March 2022 and included 9 businesses and 9 artists, with artwork spanning all mediums from oil painting, chalk pastels, photography, and digital collage. Through the trialled trails and feedback from participating artists and businesses, the art trails were found to be:

• An opportunity to unite the wealth of creative talent in Finchley Central Town Centre with the independent businesses along the high street

• Providing exposure to both local small businesses and emerging artists through a free public platform

• Encouraging people to walk the length of the high street

• An opportunity to celebrate the lesser-known interesting nooks and crannies in Finchley Central.

• Due to the success of the first trail, we organised a second art trail in Spring 2022, which included 14 businesses and 14 artists.

We collected the following feedback from participating artists and businesses to evidence the value of the approach.