BACK STREETS & BRIGHT WALLS - Photography Exhibition, St. Helens, UK

This international collaboration celebrates over 75 years of cultural connection between Stuttgart and St Helens — a shared yet independent reflection on how place and people shape one another.

This exhibition invited one to see St Helens anew — through the eyes of photographers from both St Helens and its twin city, Stuttgart. Together, they've explored the town's overlooked architectural corners and unexpected beauty: alleyways, painted walls, textures, colours, and the traces of everyday life.

During their visit, the Stuttgart artists collaborated with local creatives to capture not just places, but feelings — atmospheres, interactions, and fleeting moments that speak to the character of the town. The photographers were encouraged to experiment freely, embracing abstraction, humour, and the poetic potential of the ordinary.

"Architectural photography can be much more than just an overview of a building. We're looking for surprises, peculiarities, cracks in convention, the hidden and mysterious — and if possible, a feeling for the town through the motifs. Let creativity simply take over."
— Thomas Herrmann

Twinning through cultural and artistic exchange helps communities share ideas, celebrate creativity, and build stronger, more inclusive local relationships by helping people learn from each other with councillor murphy stating-
"I'm delighted to welcome the Stuttgart photographers to St Helens. St Helens has a long history of twinning projects with Stuttgart, and I look forward to seeing this wonderful collaboration with St Helens photographers, the Arts in Libraries Team and the World of Glass."
— Councillor Sue Murphy MBE, Cabinet Member for Localities, Culture and Heritage.

The exhibition opened on Saturday 4 October, 12-2pm at The World of Glass. Free to attend, the exhibition ran from 5 October to 15 November and is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-4pm.

The project was funded through Stuttgart Council's Cultural Department and Arts Council England, thanks to funding from taxpayers. The exhibition was delivered by the World of Glass and St Helens Borough Council through the Arts in Libraries programme, supporting artists to showcase and develop their work.

Exhibiting photographers:
Thomas Herrmann
Tanja Duszynski
Gavin Wallace
Angela Wilkinson
Paul Simms
Mark Peachey
Nicola Bolton
Christine Beckett
Kevin Crooks
Jef Gilgannon
Tillman Kleinhans