In The Shop Window

Retail analysts continue to expect a brutal Christmas season, but local artists are stepping into the breach and taking over desolate shop units to bring life back to the high street.

Jelly gallery owner Suzanne Stallard explained that she started out by utilising empty shops as gallery space: "it’s how it originated really."

Meanwhile Reading Business Improvement District manager Guy Douglas said that it appeals to estate agents to create a "positive, warm and interesting street-scape" and artists enjoy the ability to promote their work.

The first is at 173 Friar Street and three more installations are planned to open up during the Advent period.

Elsewhere, Brian Moore notes how shop windows are as much like 'living billboards' as they are prime retail space, so in an economic downturn it is important to show you are capable of innovating.

Oranjepan asks:
It provides a window on a whole new world - have you had a peep?

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Related reading: The Retail Recession