A national collection of 377 images that tell the stories behind the shopfronts on the English high street.
Bus Stop Stories
Ten winning photographs capturing the stories behind England’s bus stops, selected from a national competition Bus Stop Stories, were showcased on Clear Channel’s digital Out of Home screens across England as part of an outdoor exhibition in the summer of 2023.
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Bus Stop Stories collection
The winning photographs have entered the Historic England Archive, the nation’s archive for England’s historic buildings, archaeology and social history, as part of the new Picturing High Streets national photography collection.
With more than 140 entries from all around the UK, 10 winners were selected by a panel of experts, including:
- Danit Ariel, Assistant Curator, Photoworks
- Harriet Clarke, Creative Programmes and Campaigns Assistant, Historic England
- Jonathan May, Director, Photoworks
- Josie Saunders, Audience Engagement Manager, Photoworks
- Kelly Grist, Head of Design, Clear Channel UK
- Shoair Mavlian, Director, The Photographers’ Gallery
- Tamsin Silvey, Cultural Programme Curator at Historic England
These images celebrate the humble bus shelter and express what makes bus stops part of the lives of communities across England.
Winning entries
This image turns any preconceived ideas about this everyday structure on its head by offering an alternative interpretation of a bus stop story. It was chosen for its expressive and abstract qualities including the detailed yellow stripe that looks more like a pattern from nature than decoration for an urban bus stop. The blue hue of the bus shelter’s structure tinges the colour of the high street beyond, creatively distorting and abstracting your view as you await an incoming bus.
Josie Saunders, Audience Engagement Manager
Photoworks
Although you can only see a glimpse of the bus shelter, the two distinct stances tell you the audience is waiting for a bus. I love the photographers use of black and white, leading the eye to the laundrette sign, which everything else is framed around. You get a real sense of the diverse, multi-generational community that lives here. It’s ordinary people doing everyday things.
Kelly Grist, Head of Marketing
Clear Channel
This photograph brilliantly shows how bus stops can be a canvas for imagination. The mural by street artist Banksy has transformed the familiar sight of people waiting for a bus into something intriguing and imaginative.
Tamsin Silvey, Cultural Programme Curator
Historic England
Winning photo gallery
Gallery
Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.
More about Picturing High Streets
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Picturing High Streets Collection
A national collection of photographs documenting England’s high streets, taken by artists and members of the public in the early 2020s.
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Picturing High Streets Through the Eyes of the Public
How the Picturing High Streets 3-year project involved the public in creating a contemporary record of England’s high streets.
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