Local Exhibition Showcases Community Groups Through Comic Book Art

An exhibition highlighting various community groups throughout a county has become accessible to the public. This initiative, named 60 Miles Presents: Community Comics, is being showcased at V and B in Northampton for the upcoming two weeks. It includes excerpts, sound recordings, and written pieces detailing six distinct community groups, presented in a comic book format. The National Lottery provided funding for this endeavor, and Andy Routledge, the exhibition’s founder, commented that artists contributed “flair and originality” to the project. Mr. Routledge, representing the local arts and heritage organization 60 Miles, stated: “We try to find vibrant, creative and accessible ways to connect with people across Northampton and Northamptonshire.” He further explained: “Our first project focused on the legacy of Northampton’s new town story,” adding, “We thought long and hard about what we were going to do this time around.” He continued, describing their return to “those core values – learning about people who don’t typically feature in the mainstream conversations or our local social heritage and finding those vibrant ways to collect and capture those for wider audiences.” He also mentioned that the comic book style serves to highlight “ordinary people living extraordinary lives.” The community groups featured in the project are: Mavis Mundurwa, associated with the Power of the Mind Networks, expressed the significance of having “something that links me to people who have already been here.” She remarked: “Once we start documenting and participating in things like this, they are there forever.” Laura Graham, who serves as the project’s community facilitator, commented: “Especially for the older participants that took part, we’re capturing stories that will otherwise be lost. “I think it’s really important that we’ve gathered all of this together for future generations to look back on.” For updates on Northamptonshire news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.