National Lottery Heritage Fund for Staithes Stories Project
The Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby, is delighted to have received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £8700, for an exciting programme of events and activities to mark the Centenary of Alderman Pannett and to research and promote the Staithes Group of Artists. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on collecting stories, memories and anecdotes associated with the Staithes Group of Artists who lived and worked locally, exhibiting as a group 1894 to 1909.
Several of these artists remained in the area for many years beyond the Staithes Group period. There are people living in the area and further afield, who knew them or their families or had relatives who met or worked with the Staithes group, often with wonderful stories to tell. As time goes on, memories fade and eventually these stories will be lost forever.
Staithes was dependent on fishing and farming, with religion featuring heavily in the lives of residents. The project will also explore the impact of this group, how they integrated and what impression they made on the local community.
Supported through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project will enable the gallery to collect as many memories, histories and anecdotes as possible this year. The information gathered will be presented in a display at the Pannett Art Gallery.
2020 is the Centenary of the death of Alderman Pannett, the year he gave the park and the money to build an art gallery to the town. This project is a fitting way to celebrate the generosity of a man who played such an important role in developing and preserving the heritage of Whitby.
There will be a number of ways to become involved with this project. If you have a story to share about these artists, of if you are interested in volunteering to help collect these stories, please contact the gallery,
by phone: 01947 600933,
or email: pannett.gallery@whitbytowncouncil.gov.uk.
The funding will also enable the gallery to organise family friendly workshops and storytelling performances throughout the year so do call in or check the website regularly to make sure you don’t miss out.
Commenting on the award, Councillor Robert Dalrymple said: “We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players. We are confident the project will assist us in expanding our knowledge of these artists and will help us to raise awareness of this little known artist colony.”