In September 2026, we took part in Heritage Open Days, turning our vintage shop space in Freshney Place into a small celebration of Grimsby’s past and present, featuring photographs from the 1990s, and painting & ceramics from local artists Denise Forward and Sassie Yasamee.
Freshney Place kindly donated a variety of objects from their Archives including the Freshney Place Bear which was displayed as a prominent part of our window display.
Denise Forward makes mixed-media work rooted in local stories and family history, building her pieces by layering paint over newspaper. It’s a fitting technique for a show that sits alongside print heritage: the printed page becomes part of the picture, carrying traces of the town’s past beneath the colour.
One of the pieces on display was Waiting, a tribute to the families who stood and waited for fishermen to return from the sea. It speaks to something deeply Grimsby, and Denise’s collection of artwork drew a lot of attention amongst our visitors.
