Hats Made Me / November 24, 2023 by Shaun Armstrong

Creative photographic studies of objects from the Hats Made Me exhibit at Stockwood Park, Luton by photographer Shaun Armstrong.

A beautiful and informative book containing over 120 of my original images has just been published following the practical completion of the first phase of Luton’s regeneration of its former ‘Hat District’.

I was commissioned by The Culture Trust, Luton from 2017 to 2022 to document the 5-year refurbishment, regeneration and transformation of a number of run-down former hat-making factories into vibrant creative workspaces, whilst retaining their important industrial heritage.

Visiting periodically, in liaison with the project team as various stages took place across the 3 main sites, I was allowed unfettered access to the buildings, both inside and outside as scaffolding allowed.

As I explored the spaces, alongside the more formal recording content of certain fixed perspectives, I was given a free rein to express the content, detail and nature of each space as I wished and the work taking place. This enabled me to observe not only the buildings in their widest space and location, but down to the finer details in the build and materials as they were and as they became, with all the stages of transition in between.

This body of work is now part of the permanent heritage archive to show how the built environment was cared for and reused.

The more abstract interpretations were curated into a series of prints by expert Matthew Shaul to form an exhibition known as ‘These Walls Tell Stories’ which enabled the public to visit and see the work. A series of limited-edition prints are available here alongside a signed copy of the book with a limited-edition print here.

This latest book has been written by The Culture Trust Luton’s Chief Executive and driving force behind the project, Marie Kirbyshaw, along with Heritage Officer Elise Naish, to tell both the heritage story of these hat factories and also the journey of the spaces and their future worth to the local creative community and beyond.

To see my work illustrate this story so extensively and lavishly is a real pleasure.

(All Images on pages below ©ShaunArmstrong)

Buy a limited-edition copy of the book signed by me with an exclusive signed NEW A4 print here (only 5 available) here

Buy a limited-edition signed A3 print from my ‘These Walls Tell Stories’ Hat District photography exhibition.

‘Touch’ - photography for Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust community art project. / July 12, 2022 by Shaun Armstrong

I’ve had the privilege of supplying supporting photography to a HM The Queen Platinum Jubillee-funded community art project that took place in two local hospitals.

All photographs ©ShaunArmstrong2022

The ‘take heART’ art and wellbeing staff-led group within Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation, along with Creative Community Producer and all-round dynamo Kayte Judge, developed a project to give back; commissioning artist Anne-Marie Abbate to make new artworks as the basis for wall-art installations whilst also delivering creative staff workshops and a flash-mob distribution of thank-you gifts that acknowledged the importance of ‘human touch’, especially given the recent challenges of the COVID pandemic.

Inspired by the poem ‘These are the hands…’ by Michael Rosen, Anne-Marie’s artwork considered human touch and was based on microscopic images of touch receptors in the fingers. From this idea, she created pieces of handmade artwork using paper marbling, sewing, applique and other crafting skills.

I was commissioned to produce highly detailed and defined macro images of the artwork: my selective artistic details of trial pieces for branding and promotional materials and the final pieces so they could be blown up from their original c30cm size to over 1.8m for high-impact wall installations, whilst retaining the intricacy, depth and details of patterns, threads and tiny beads.

These images were then printed and mounted in prominent public corridors at Bedford Hospital and Luton & Dunstable Hospital, along with the poem and framed original artwork pieces.

I also documented the free on-site workshops where staff, across all parts of the hospital, could drop in and try their hand at the techniques used in the artwork and I focused on ‘hands at work’.