The Most Creative Station programme is encouraging people "to see the station and Middlesbrough in a new light"
The hidden sounds of everyday life in Middlesbrough are helping to ensure the town’s railway station is the most creative in the UK.
A host of large-scale public art installations have already transformed the station into a living and breathing cultural hotspot.
Now, the team behind the Most Creative Station programme can announce the exciting news that two new artists have been added to the line-up.
Sound artist Nell Catchpole is artist in residence until March 2025, highlighting often overlooked noises and conversations while telling the stories of station staff and commuters through a series of sound installations titled ‘Transported’.
Catherine Bertola’s ‘And ever again’, a film installation which draws attention to overlooked history and craftsmanship in the station, will be the station’s ninth announced commission.
“We’re really excited to welcome Nell and Catherine to showcase their work as part of the Most Creative Station,” said Vicky Holbrough from Navigator North, the artist-led organisation running the programme in partnership with Middlesbrough Council and station operators TransPennine Express.
“The installations already in place have brought new life to the station. They have sparked conversations and given people the opportunity to think about being creative in an entirely different way.
“Feedback has been very positive with visitors telling us how the programme is encouraging them to see the station and Middlesbrough in a new light.
“There’s still so much to come and we know that Nell and Catherine’s input, alongside the work from the other incredible artists involved, will continue to captivate visitors to the station.”
The first phase of Nell’s work features recordings of the station’s soundscape along with interviews with staff and commuters broadcast from specially configured ultrasonic speakers. Visitors, when stood at certain points on both platforms, can enjoy experience the installation in the coming weeks.
Nell, originally a musician who moved from London to Teesside, said: “Those listening in on Platform One will hear positive thoughts, well-wishes and spoken word messages from lots of different voices. On Platform Two, listeners will be transported to a much more imaginative space.
“The Most Creative Station project is really removing that barrier between the artist and the person interacting with the art, and I hope my work can contribute in some way to that.
“I’ve learned so much about the station and Middlesbrough. The friendliness, warmth and humour of the town has shone through.”
Further phases of Nell’s residency include ‘If Walls Could Talk’, with messages broadcast from behind the wooden panels in the station’s waiting room, while ‘Transported’ invites people to add their own recorded messages. Contributions are welcome from anyone in Middlesbrough – giving people a lift, a laugh, or a story about local rail travel – and can be contributed for free on 0800 193 7456.
Catherine, a visual artist and senior lecturer on Teesside University’s Fine Art course, will be presenting her work in the main ticket hall, bringing together archive photographs and contemporary images which sees her film slipping between different decades, capturing the essence of those who work at and use the station.
An example still from Catherine Bertola’s installation as part of Most Creative Station
“I hope that the installation brings focus to some of the unique and distinct architectural details at the station, those things on the periphery which may not be noticed by people who are used to just passing through the station,” said Catherine.
“The Most Creative Station programme is ambitious and it’s wonderful to be a part of, reaching audiences where they are and showing them something new.”
A second aspect of Catherine’s work will see her film’s atmosphere extended on an installation around the monitors it’s being shown on, pulling more people in to observe.
Throughout December, three further commissions are being unveiled at the station.
Helen Pailing’s ‘Connection’ is an impressive sculpture made with pre-loved plastic Meccano ‘stitched’ together and inspired by the industrial heritage of Middlesbrough and the railway station’s role in bringing people together.
Helen Pailing’s ‘Connection’ at Middlesbrough Railway Station
Ed Carter’s ‘Transient’ is a sculptural and sonic installation based in a stairwell connecting the station underpass to the Platform 2 waiting room. It depicts the original Middlesbrough Railway Station building which was opened and then demolished less than 30 years later, making way for the modern-day station.
Keino’s ‘Comic Connections’ celebrates almost Middlesbrough’s history, the birth of train travel and the tenacity of Teesside through two centuries in a 15-metre illustration in the pedestrian underpass.
They join the installations already installed, like Rachael Clewlow’s Tees Colour Register – a vibrant, colourful vinyl display which has temporarily transformed the concourse’s upper windows – and Adam Shaw’s Kiosk, a temporary structure built by hand and inspired by a 1950s archive photograph of the station.
Emma Bennett’s Middlesbrough Moquette has transformed the Platform 2 waiting room, with her designs featuring on practical, everyday spaces in the station such as seating and windows, while Beth Johnson’s Journey uses discarded train tickets to create a beautiful, flowing artwork in the main concourse area.
The programme forms part of a larger project to make Middlesbrough the Most Creative Town in the UK, after the Middlesbrough Cultural Partnership and Middlesbrough Council successfully bid for £4.25m from the Cultural Development Fund in 2022, administered by Arts Council England.
