Jill Reidy, Author at Blackpool Social Club

10 Aug

Pigmentumphobia – an Exhibition by Laura Shevaun Green

Jill Reidy0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, Hive, painting the town

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text] A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a preview of an exhibition, Pigmentumphobia, by Laura Shevaun Green, a local artist. Sadly, I couldn’t make that date, but I began to hear some great reviews of the work. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Laura is a Fylde and Wyre based artist. She grew up in Blackpool and gained a 1st Class Fine Arts and Professional Practice Degree at the local university. She has exhibited in group exhibitions in several countries. She landed her only major commission in 2018 with ‘Painting the Town’ but sadly the work was never publicly exhibited.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="33313"…

12 Apr

Golden Miles of Photography

Jill Reidy0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsBlackpool, photographer, street photographer

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] I first became aware of Gisela Szlatoszlavek on social media. With an interest in street photography, I was immediately drawn to her work. Seen through Gisela’s eyes, Blackpool is funny, quirky and bursting with colour. I caught up with her online and learned more about her photography, and how she came to produce her beautiful zine. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tell me a little bit about your creative background. How long have you been into photography, and how did it come about? My love of photography started around nine years ago. I am purely self-taught and have developed over this period. I suppose…

10 Mar

A photography student in lockdown

Jill Reidy1 CommentVisual Arts & Exhibitionslockdown, photography

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] I first encountered Emilia Zogo on Facebook when she posted about her lockdown photography and the fact that she had produced a zine. I thought it looked interesting, made contact and arranged to meet with her for a chat and to get my own copy of the Zine. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] How did the Zine come about, and was it easy to produce? I always dreamt of creating a Zine, but I’d planned my first one on a different topic. Due to the pandemic outbreak and the impact it created, I decided to create a Zine on this topic. The production…

19 Feb

Do the Seitan Hustle

Jill Reidy0 CommentsFood and Drink, Local NewsCovid-19, fleetwood, food, takeaway, vegan

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] ".....most of us grew up eating meat, and just because we decided to change our way of eating for the welfare of animals, the environment, our health or whatever, it doesn’t mean we don’t miss the taste. It’s a tough sacrifice. " Tony Sun [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I volunteered to look into this venture for Blackpool Social Club, I must admit I wasn’t quite sure what the takeaway was all about. The first thing I did was look at the Seitan Hustle website. The food looked delicious but I still didn’t know exactly what Seitan was. So I googled, and it…

27 Dec

Light Up the Northwest: Shining bright into 2021

Jill Reidy0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsBlackpool, camera, light, photo, photographer, photography

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] While scrolling through the Blackpool Social Club Instagram feed, we noticed some striking images of Blackpool that appeared to come straight from sci-fi film. Jill caught up with Matt from Light Up the Northwest to find out more about his illuminating work. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]What's your creative background? My brother Chris (Light Painting the Night) and I don’t really have a creative background, but art and creativity has always had a strong influence on us both throughout our childhood, largely inspired by Neil Buchanan’s ‘Art Attack’. We both have no formal photography training or qualifications, we’ve taught ourselves through a combination…

24 Nov

Photo Gallery: Small Pleasures During Lockdown, Jill Reidy

Jill Reidy0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsJill Reidy, lockdown, photography

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] As for many people around the world, this year has been one of the most difficult I’ve had to endure. However, I’m one of the lucky ones - so far. Although some members of the family have succumbed to Covid, nobody in my circle has died or even been afflicted badly, and for that, I’m eternally grateful. I’m also fortunate in that I’m pretty self-contained, and actually quite happy with my own company. I’m never bored, I can always find something to do, but I’m also very aware that I wouldn’t like to remain in this situation forever. I’m…

10 Oct

Blackpool Football Club urges us to ‘Get Vocal’ about mental health

Jill Reidy0 CommentsLocal News, Sports & Wellbeingbfc, Blackpool Council, Blackpool Football Club, documentary photography, Football, mental health, sport, wellbeing, wellness

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] For a second consecutive year Blackpool Football Club has partnered with the Council’s Get Vocal campaign. The campaign was launched in 2018 and aims to encourage residents in Blackpool to look after their mental health. The message is directed at all adults in Blackpool, particularly to men and middle-aged people, who may be at risk of poor mental health, but who might not seek help. This partnership will see the branding for the Get Vocal campaign on the front of the team’s third kit away shirts for the 2020/21 football season. The team will wear the new shirts for the…

24 Sep

Lets Talk About Loss – Claire Watt on her photography series

Jill Reidy0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, photography

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Claire Watt is a recent photography graduate based in Blackpool whose work aims to explore connection to contemporary society, how it copes with the inevitability of death and loss, positioned within a post-photographic era in an over saturated image market. Claire recycles images from personal archives and invites collaborators to send their own domestic imagery. Rooted in portraiture, it seeks to document moments which evoke memory and her own past. She chats to Jill Reidy. Jill: Can you tell me a little bit about your background and how you became interested in photography? Claire: My journey with photography began…

12 Aug

Mrs Johnson’s PPE Emporium

Jill Reidy0 CommentsLocal NewsBlackpool, community, community groups, coronavirus, Craft, Knitting, lockdown

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] During lockdown – one of the strangest periods in recent history – Susanne Johnson of Mrs Johnson’s Emporium began to make PPE for the local hospital. Jill Reidy asked her about the experience of running Mrs Johnson's PPE Emporium... I know you’ve always been community minded but How did these lockdown projects come about? Knitters, crocheters and sewers are always contributing to good causes with their work. They've 'knitted knockers', made fish and chip baby blankets to send to Africa, traffic-light hats for babies in incubators, poppies for veterans and wrapped homemade scarves around lampposts for the homeless in…

30 Jun

The World has a Reboot – My Life in Lockdown with Jill Reidy

Jill Reidy1 CommentColumns & Opinioncoronavirus, Covid-19, lockdown

It was at the end of a relaxing week in Spain when the word Coronavirus began to creep into conversations. We’d been listening to the news and following this unknown virus’s march through China, Italy and Spain. Like many people, I hadn’t taken it very seriously. It was something that was going on in the world that didn’t affect me, would soon be over, and I didn’t really need to think about it. The day before we flew home it was announced that the virus had hit the region we were staying in. It still seemed like something that had…