As a once-local artist, Michael Trainor (who now lives in Scotland) explains, it’s largely due to location and size. Even in the height of summer, he observed, the sun can be illusive along the Irish Sea coast.
To put it on an icy stretch of the northwest coast was the original Victorian audacity. “Mad as hell from the get-go.” There’s also the fact that much of the housing here is bland and recently constructed, with little architectural detail to pique one’s interest (the Edwardian homes around Stanley Park are a noteworthy exception). Blackpool’s median home sale price in July 2021 was roughly $170,000, compared to the UK average of $387,000 at year’s end in August.
Blackpool’s distinctive Eiffel Tower-inspired tower, according to Mr. Trainor, 54, was erected as a mass-market crowd-pleaser, mostly for Manchester’s factory workers. In order to attract new creative talent, the costs and dangers are significantly greater.
The city’s previous LeftCoast director, Mr. Trainor, though, does not rule out Blackpool’s possibilities. He originally came to the city to work on a commission, and he stayed for a long time to assist promote the city’s artistic community.. Moreover, the Arts Council of the United Kingdom designated it as a priority region in September.
Art B&B, a 19-room reworking of the standard bed-and-breakfast, is one of Mr. Trainor’s most interesting ventures. Each room was individually designed by an artist. For example, Christopher Samuel created one to help ambulatory guests understand the challenges he faces as a wheelchair user at most hotels.
As part of Mr. Trainor’s commitment to reinvesting Art B&B’s revenues back into the community, he stated with pride that this summer’s revenue from the hotel exceeded all expectations.
he stated, “Blackpool has the same problems that all the UK coastal communities have but it’s by far the most frequented, so becomes a concentrated version of everything that happens in them.”
