Art organisations and community groups have been commissioned to showcase heritage through poetry, portraits and reflection.

In a bid to revitalise the Chatham Intra area, located within the Star Hill to Sun Pier Conservation Area which covers parts of Chatham and Rochester, Medway Council was awarded £1.6 million government funding last year.

Delivered through Historic England’s High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme, the project aims to breathe new life into the high street.

The aim is to provide an arts programme, creative opportunities and education in a space that welcomes people of all ages, abilities and circumstances.

It will be used to help the area become a cultural and creative hub with a mix of artists, creatives and makers occupying under-used historic buildings.

A cultural consortium, which includes arts organisations and community groups, has been created to develop a heritage and engagement programme to showcase the area’s history.

Last August, the council was also awarded £10,000 pilot funding for the commissions.

The consortium has commissioned six projects which will uncover the area’s past for residents to enjoy during their daily exercise and essential trips, as well as online.

Consortium member Janet Fischer said: "These projects show the actual voices of local people and the artwork is making the Chatham Intra area more attractive.

"This was about testing ideas and exploring what we can do over the next three years, are key goal is to bring the Intra to life and we're committed to showcasing diverse communities while we do that."

The first project is the Medway Intra Poetry Walk.

Artist Ally Sinyard has encouraged writers to submit poetry and spoken word pieces based on their experiences of the area to be used in an interactive trail.

The deadline for entries was on March 28 and soon a selection of the works will be encrypted into individual QR codes, which will then be placed around the Old High Street Intra for members of the public to discover.

For more information, visit allysinyard.co.uk/medwayintrapoetrywalk

The second project is the Slice of Medway #Litterarma instalment.

The Living River Foundation will be installing a trail of resin artworks displaying litter which has been collected in the Medway Estuary in driftwood frames from Star Hill to Sun Pier, for residents to look at while taking part in their daily exercise.

The foundation is also encouraging children aged seven to 10 to write a poem or story about the Medway Estuary including the heritage of the area using three items from their photoboard on their website.

To find out more, visit living-river.org/sliceofmedwaylitterarma

The third project is the Cathedral of Community installation.

Hannah Whittaker, a performance maker who creates interactive installations, will be creating stained glass portraits of the people behind the businesses and organisations in the area.

She will be making the images out of tissue paper, which will be put on display in due course.

To find out more, including how local businesses can get involved, visit hannahwhittaker.com/intra

The fourth project, Closer Than You Think, took place during LGBT History Month in February.

A powerful art installation, using pink triangles and yellow stars that gay men and Jewish people were forced to wear during the Nazi era, was on display at Intra Arts, Chatham Memorial Synagogue and the Ship Inn, in Chatham.

The Ship Inn, thought to be one of the oldest LGBT pubs in the country, and the Synagogue face each other on the Intra stretch of High Street where Chatham and Rochester meet.

The two communities represented by these historic venues have both suffered prejudice and discrimination.

For the fifth project, Future Chatham and community arts organisation, Creatabot, have been collecting memories from people who received care, and worked, at the old St Bartholomew’s Hospital in Rochester.

To find out more, visit Future Chatham’s website futurechatham.weebly.com/local-history.html.

A YouTube channel has also been created here.

The final project is the Medway Pride Radio.

A new community radio station, based at the Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre (MGSD) in Rochester, will provide residents with regular updates on the art commissions as well as special features on the history of the area.

To tune-in, visit medwayprideradio.co.uk

Council leader Cllr Alan Jarrett (Con) said: “I would encourage residents to find out more about the project.

"The cultural consortium and their ongoing works with local creatives, also supports Medway’s bid to become UK City of Culture in 2025.”

The Old High Street project is not to be confused with the new separate project, The Rainbow Effect – which is Medway Council's outdoor Covid public art commissions.

Alice Brockway, Historic England Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas, said: “These displays and commissions embrace Medway’s diverse community and celebrate its riverside heritage, offering new and exciting ways to learn more about with the area’s unique character.

"We look forward to working with Medway Council, the cultural consortium and local communities as these creative activities develop.”

A temporary 'pop-up museum' celebrating the history of the River Medway will also open this month.

Hosted in the windows of IntraArts, the old Featherstone's menswear shop at 337-341 High Street Rochester, the museum titled, Work Hard, Play Hard, is full of objects and photographs.

It is open until April 30 and features a model of the J.P. Knight tug Keverne. There’s a collection of Arkcoll, Owen J Carter and Dove, Phillips and Petts bottles and flagons, Empire Theatre and Picture Palace programmes, and a display of photographs of the area.

For more information about the project, visit: medway.gov.uk/heritageactionzone

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