Westbury & me: A celebration of Westbury people

A PHOTOGRAPHY project by local people, which is celebrating Westbury residents, is under way and soon, the results will be on display in the town.

The ‘Westbury & Me’ project is led by  artist, Penney Ellis, who has been passing on her photography skills to Westbury residents who selected people they would like to feature.

Commissioned by Wiltshire Council, the project teaches people how to take better photographs and with their improved skills, they photographed someone they consider to have made a contribution to community life.

The people they identify will also be asked to complete a set of phrases to reveal a bit about themselves. This will form the content of a set of posters featuring Westbury people. Some of Matravers School students have taken part in the project. The ‘Westbury & Me’ photographs are then made into posters, which will go up in places such asnthe library, the community centres and town hall, schools and a selection of shops and pubs.

Penney said, “It is an insight into the lives of local residents, people who contribute to community life, are involved with local groups and societies, and provide a service in the town. People doing interesting and extraordinary things.”

If you would like to nominate a Westbury resident, please contact Penney Ellis 07896 315778.

The Westbury people who have been chosen to feature in the project will also appear in the White Horse News, with the first personality, Jason Curtis, featured below.

Additionally, unique images of Westbury have been captured from new perspectives; such as cobbled paving from ground view, close-up crops of weathered architectural features, or Westbury etched into the bark of a tree. These will also be featured in the town.

‘Westbury & Me’ has been funded by Persimmon Homes and supported by Leigh Park Community Centre, the Laverton and the White Horse News.

Penney Ellis is a fine-art graduate from Oxford Brookes University working on various projects in lens-based media. Her work has a specific emphasis on community, time and environment.

To find out more please visit Westbury & Me at
www.photo-sensitive.co.uk