Selby Abbey becomes artistic focus for textile creator tasked with exploring its history

Selby Abbey, which has stood proudly at the heart of the town for more than 900 years, will be the focus of artwork specially commissioned to showcase its history and splendour.
Yorkshire textile artist Serena Partridge has started a residency based at the Abbey where she will create artwork that will be displayed to the public in spring next year.Yorkshire textile artist Serena Partridge has started a residency based at the Abbey where she will create artwork that will be displayed to the public in spring next year.
Yorkshire textile artist Serena Partridge has started a residency based at the Abbey where she will create artwork that will be displayed to the public in spring next year.

Yorkshire textile artist Serena Partridge has started a residency based at the Abbey where she will create artwork that will be displayed to the public in spring next year.

She will spend the winter gathering stories, memories and information about the church and its place in the hearts of residents of the North Yorkshire market town.

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Ms Partridge will then use those stories as a jumping-off point for inspiration for her art.

She said: “The residency is a brilliant opportunity for me to step outside of the traditional ‘white gallery space’ and work within an unusual and historical context, which is hugely exciting and a great honour.

“As a maker of small-scale artworks, I’m trying not to be daunted by the enormous size and gravitas of Selby Abbey. Instead, I am very much looking forward to sharing and learning from the Selby community.

“These sessions will inform the artwork and hopefully bring a slightly different perspective and new experience to the Abbey’s many visitors.”

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The new artworks form the centrepiece of Selby Stories, a cultural programme funded by Historic England and Selby District Council.

Other elements of the programme have included gathering oral histories from long-standing residents of the town, and a rebuilding of the Abbey on video game Minecraft to encourage teenagers to take an interest in its heritage.

Ms Partridge specialises in creating tiny handcrafted accessories inspired by histories and storytelling.

She has previously undertaken a number of residencies including one with the Royal Pump Room Museum in Harrogate, the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection in Lancashire and the Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, Canada.

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A previous residency at the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth saw her create tiny hand-stitched accessories, including gloves, shoes and handkerchiefs inspired by imagined relics of Jane Eyre author Charlotte Brontë’s life.

Grace Chapman, community engagement co-ordinator at Selby Abbey, said: “We are thrilled to host Serena and to see what she creates as part of her residency.

“One of the most exciting things about a project like this is that you never know what will be created.”