… describing and painting, designing and envisioning a sense of place
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Graham Cooper has been an active part of the Vision Group for Sidmouth almost since its inception some two decades ago – with rich and varied contributions, including a look at the Esplanade Shelters under the cricket ground at the Western Pavilions back in 2008, an imagining of what Sidmouth seafront could end up looking like in 2017, and regular links to the world of design, such as a 2021 piece on Biophilia in architecture.
Graham Cooper’s website holds a wealth of media – including an overview of over a dozen publications on art and architecture as well as a list of his projects in Sidmouth and a profile of his practice. See: https://www.grahamcooper.com/
Here he is with one of his publications from 2014:
Graham has also donated his materials – including to his hometown of Bury, The Spirit of a Town: the Graham Cooper & Douglas Sargent Photographic Archive in 2016:
In his publication, “Sense of Place: Outside Art in Bury”, Graham refers to this collection of Kodachrome slides as, ‘examples of individual creativity as expressed in the decoration of homes, ornately adorned public houses and various other forms of novel measures which were also aesthetically appealing’. Graham and his photographer friend, Douglas Sargent, undertook a journey which sought out these forms of local outdoor art; forty years on from the images being created we get to see which features were identified in creating the ‘spirited nature of a town’.
And in 2017, Graham donated his Japan collection to the British Library:
Graham Cooper received awards for his work in the country and was the architectural coordinator of the Japan 2001 festival. But when the Royal College of Art graduate returned to the UK, he found there was a lack of understanding and awareness in the wealth of creativity then on display in Japan – so set out to share his knowledge.
Graham has also exhibited locally, putting on the show Producing Art and Design Books for the Science Festival a decade ago. And in May this year, he will be putting on a rather extraordinary exhibition at Kennaway House Sidmouth – with more on this event to come…
Finally, Graham has been at the heart of shaping the vision for the Sid Valley – and not just as part of the Vision Group for Sidmouth – leading one of the key sections of the “Define the Vision, Shape the Future” of the Sid Valley event back in 2017 when the shaping of the Neighbourhood Plan began.
Over the coming weeks, the VGS pages will be featuring specific areas which Graham has been involved in – with a particular focus on Sidmouth – from Port Royal to the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan, from defining ‘a sense of place’ to designing for health.
A fascinating overview of one person’s contributions – but also a valuable look at how we could be looking at our surroundings a little more sharply and appreciatively.
Look out for those pages!
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