Back Streets and Bright Walls: An exhibition of photography from St Helens and Stuttgart
This international collaboration celebrates more than 75 years of cultural connection between Stuttgart and St Helens — a shared yet independent reflection on how place and people shape one another.
Article date: October 9 2025
This exhibition invites you to see St Helens anew — through the eyes of photographers from both St Helens Borough and its twin city, Stuttgart. Together, they've explored the town's overlooked architectural corners and unexpected beauty: alleyways, painted walls, textures, colours, and the traces of everyday life.
During their visit, the Stuttgart artists collaborated with local creatives to capture not just places, but feelings — atmospheres, interactions, and fleeting moments that speak to the character of the town. The photographers were encouraged to experiment freely, embracing abstraction, humour, and the poetic potential of the ordinary.
Thomas Hermann, one of the photographers, said: "Architectural photography can be much more than just an overview of a building. We're looking for surprises, peculiarities, cracks in convention, the hidden and mysterious — and if possible, a feeling for the town through the motifs. Let creativity simply take over."
Twinning through cultural and artistic exchange helps communities share ideas, celebrate creativity, and build stronger, more inclusive local relationships by helping people learn from each other with councillor Murphy stating-
Councillor Sue Murphy MBE, Cabinet Member for Localities, Culture and Heritage, said: "I'm delighted to welcome the Stuttgart photographers to St Helens. St Helens has a long history of twinning projects with Stuttgart, and I look forward to seeing this wonderful collaboration with St Helens photographers, the Arts in Libraries Team and the World of Glass."
The exhibition is free to attend and runs until 15 November and is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-4pm.
Tickets for the opening event can be booked on the St Helens Arts in Libraries website - https://artsinlibraries.sthelens.gov.uk/
The project has been funded throughStuttgart Council's Cultural Department and Arts Council England, thanks to funding from taxpayers. The exhibition is delivered by the World of Glass and St Helens Borough Council through the Arts in Libraries programme, supporting artists to showcase and develop their work.