The Firing Line Project Details
An Arts Council England ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ grant enabled a unique research & development opportunity led by artist Danny Callaghan working in partnership with The Firing Line; a traditional ceramic tile manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent.
This welcome investment supported Callaghan as de facto artist-in-residence at the tile works over a 6 month period between January and June 2021. The residency provided a sustained period of creative research & development with the primary focus being Callaghan’s artistic development & future practice (in particular working with tiles, art mosaic & architectural ceramics).
He worked on his own studio practice & in close contact with master tile makers Richard & Steve Wilshaw to understand, deconstruct & disrupt traditional production methods & thinking. He developed a range of new creative & technical skills through informal but structured ‘learning by doing’. This activity culminated in a collection of ceramic products, experimental samples & tests. A selection formed the basis for a ‘window display’ at Winkhill Mill safely viewed from Swan Street (Stoke).
This R&D residency helped to re-focus & re-ignite Danny Callaghan’s creative practice as an artist & more specifically as an artist who works with tiles, art mosaic & architectural ceramics.
The Firing Line manufactures high quality ceramic tiles using traditional skills & 100 year old cast iron ‘dust presses’. Its main business is on once fired bisque tiles for designers, decorators & other commercial companies. It’s based at Winkhill Mill; an early 1900s factory building near Stoke Town Centre built on the site of one of Minton Hollins’ historical tile works (Cliff Bank Works).
Danny Callaghan
Artist & Co-Director of Ceramic City Stories C.I.C. (UK Non Profit)
Taken from original ACE DYCP proposal:
Your work: I have worked in a wide range of professional arts, creative heritage & cultural industries roles for more than 25 years. I have been employed & commissioned by organisations in the public, voluntary & private sectors. I have worked as an artist, researcher & project facilitator. Often working within the context of regeneration or development initiatives; key themes in my work include: identity, place & local distinctiveness. My own creative practice has also been varied; from site & context specific public art to street art campaigns deploying paper cuts, décollage & guerrilla ceramics used to map neighbourhoods & ‘trade’ with a variety of communities both local & further afield.
I grew up in The Potteries; I am passionate about the city’s cultural & economic renewal. I believe Stoke-on-Trent’s unique historic ceramic industry & its truly global legacy provides an essential & powerful driver for renewal & future growth. My specific passions are tiles, art mosaic & architectural ceramics.
Selection of projects, commissions & contracts (most recent first): Our Beth (Central Park Conservancy NYC 2019), Fun Palaces Ambassadors (Fun Palaces London, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Wellcome 2016-19), Co-Director (Ceramic City Stories CIC 2015-present day), How Should Heritage Decisions Be Made (Leeds University/AHRC Connected Communities 2013-15), Potteries Tile Trail (Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society, HLF, Historypin 2012-14), Prescot THI bid, Conservation Skills & Interpretation Project (Knowsley MBC, HLF 2009-12), Bushbury & Oak Meadow Primary Schools Residency (Diablo Arts/Wolverhampton CC/Architype 2010-11), Creative Learning/Sustain (South Hill Park, ACE SE 2010), Education & Collaborations Manager (FACT Liverpool 2008), Coordinator, Culturegen (Stafford BC, ACE WM, SRB6 2002-08), Artsworks (Wirral MBC, ACE NW, SRB 1993-99), Public Art Officer (Public Art Commissions Agency Birmingham 1990-91), Professional Development Bursary (Public Art Forum, ACE WM 19190).
Recent interview (Under One Roof podcast):
How Should Heritage Decisions Be Made? (Pages 40-45 The Potteries Tile Trail):
DYCP Proposal (Detail):