Smart Gallery Leeds

Commissioned by Space2, with Heritage Lottery funding, they realised that as the the Old Fire Station Gipton was closing and that no one was documenting the story and history of both the building and the firefighters that served there.
Smart Galley was invited to work with retired firefighters to create an exhibition and Social Museum to celebrate the lives of not just the firefighters but everyone that had contact with the fire statiom including the story of the wives, families, victims of fire or users of the services. Jane Morland headed up the research group of retired firefighters and gathered a wealth of story, history and research.
Working with 800 primary school children at St Nicolas and Wykebeck primary schools and created 3000 monoprints and relief prints that were put into an exhibition in the Old Workshop Gallery in the Space2 building.
The Museum ran for 3 weeks, collecting story, artefacts and was finished for the launch of The Old Fire Station a community space with 6 charities having their headquarters in the offices above. The legacy is brilliant for a very deprived are of Gipton, giving them a lovely cafe and rooms for rent for classes etc. On the back of the interest of the museum there is to be a permanent display of all the research and objects that were permanently donated to us.