Giant Beano comes to Salford

A giant Beano comic is on display in Salford.

Chapel St Community Arts (CSCA) has launched its exhibition of a three-foot high beano comic at Salford Museum and Art Gallery.

The project, which Salix Homes is supporting, celebrates the rich history of Chapel Street, which includes printers DC Thomson, famous for printing The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics, who had operations based on Chapel St until the mid 90’s.

The artwork on display tells some of the recent history of Chapel Street and includes stories from ex employees of DC Thomson and memories of local residents who helped to create the artwork.

CSCA Coordinator Chris Doyle said: DC Thomson has produced a huge range of comics throughout their history, but somehow not many people know they had a presence in Salford. We’ve created a visual celebration of their existence on Chapel Street, whilst telling some stories of some of the local characters who have lived and worked there.

Manchester based artist Ian Mckay worked with people and community groups based around Chapel Street to create the work, and explained that those involved were keen to share their memories of the people and places of Chapel Streets recent past.

He said: We spoke with ex employees about DC Thomson and then found that people wanted to tell their stories of other places and events in the area. All of the people and groups involved have been fantastic, and have worked really hard to produce the work needed to tell their stories, which is great – it’s given a stronger meaning to those involved.

The exhibition entitled ‘Chapel Street then and now’, is currently being shown at Salford Museum and Art Gallery, and will be available to view until 12 October 2014.