The Kiosk – a moving workshop for a moving story – comes to Hopetown Darlington
Hopetown Darlington is welcoming a new outdoor exhibition throughout the summer holidays, alongside its extensive range of events and activities.
The Kiosk, by artist Adam Shaw is an interactive touring artwork exploring memory, nostalgia, and local heritage through a mobile creative experience. Inspired by E.D. Walker & Wilson newsagent’s kiosk, which is on display in North Road Station Museum. Adam has reimagined The Kiosk as a space to delve into the area’s rich local history through conservation, creative activities, and visual storytelling.
Brought to Darlington through Navigator North and Middlesbrough Art Week’s FORGED programme, with funding through the S&DR 26miles Community Grant Scheme and made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Creative Darlington, and Hopetown Darlington.
The Kiosk will connect directly to the S&DR200 Celebrations in 2025, alongside the STEAM to the Future Exhibition in the Exhibition Hall and Titans of Steam later in the year. It invites the public and its host communities to share stories and embark on a journey through time, bringing local heritage to life through creative activities.
Following a visit to pupils at The Rydal Academy in July, The Kiosk will feature at Hopetown Darlington for public residency throughout the summer holidays. The public are welcomed to participate in creative activities and conversations with artists and volunteers. The Kiosk and its activities are included in free site admission.
It will be on display in the Goods Yard everyday throughout the summer as a standalone artwork with creative participatory sessions for all ages, taking place on selected dates including 23, 26, 19 July, and 3, 7, 9, 12, 17, 24, 29, and 30 August.
The Kiosk will leave Hopetown Darlington in the autumn, continuing its tour to the Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form where it will invite students to build on the work gathered.
Artist Adam Shaw said: “The Kiosk is about gathering traces — stories, drawings, memories — and inviting people to step into the past through imagination. Hopetown feels like the perfect place to do that. It’s where history was made, but also where young people today can make something new from it. Throughout the summer I’ll be running print workshops that explore etching and printmaking as a way of connecting to this heritage — by making something with your hands, you’re taking part in the story.”
Mike Crawshaw, Darlington Borough Council’s Head of Heritage and Culture, said: “We’re delighted to welcome The Kiosk onto Hopetown Darlington’s site. It adds to an already fantastic line up of events and activities for the whole family over the bicentenary summer, including the incredible STEAM to the Future.”
Councillor Libby McCollom, Cabinet Member for Local Services, said: “Hopetown Darlington offers families from Darlington and the wider north east region a fantastic and accessible trip out, and this new visual exhibition is yet another reason to visit.”
