University Students’ Work Pulls into Platform 5

Photographs by talented students from the university are on display at Bolton’s rail Interchange. The new gallery on Platform 5 is part of the station’s regeneration and it was officially opened by the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Hilary Fairclough.

Sam Johnson, Head of the School of Arts, said she was delighted by the transformation of a room that has been out-of-use for decades and is now displaying quality artwork by Bolton students.

She said: “It is the university’s intention that this should be the first of many projects involving students working in collaboration with, and in support of, the wider Bolton community.”

The exhibition, which is featuring as part of the wider GM Manifest Arts Festival 2019, combines a range of photographic work from graduating students and also provides photographic documentation of the refurbishment work being undertaken to develop a community arts hub at the station.

The gallery project is a key part of the Station Partnership’s vision to transform Bolton station into a thriving community hub, involving young people in a range of arts activities. Arts Co-ordinator and Vice-Chair of the Station Partnership, Julie Levy, said: “It’s wonderful to see what was once a boarded-up room full of junk, transformed into an art gallery.”