Leicester College lecturer’s photographs selected for Historic England’s national Picturing High Streets Collection

The work of Leicester College photography lecturer, Clair Robins, has been selected for Historic England’s national Picturing High Streets Collection. Chosen from thousands of images submitted by the public, Clair’s images were selected by a prestigious panel to form part of a collection of over 60 images that celebrate and document the high street of today.

The collection presents a snapshot of a year in the life of the English high street, documenting and celebrating the people, places and stories that it holds. From high street heroes to candid street scenes, the images take a fresh look at the high street. Together, they celebrate the history, experiences and connections of the people and places that make up an often overlooked fixture in our lives.

The panel of judges included designer and retail expert Wayne Hemingway, renowned artist Camille Walala, Ben Hope, Clear Channel’s Marketing Director, and Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England.

The images will form part of the Historic England Archive, the nation’s archive for England’s historic buildings, archaeology and social history.

Clair’s images can also be seen in the Picturing High Streets outdoor exhibition, touring towns and cities including the FORMAT23 International Photography Festival in Derby, as well as London, Bristol, Middlesbrough, Prescot, Hastings, Norwich, Bradford and Stoke-on-Trent from March 2023. The winning images will also appear on outdoor advertising screens across England.

Clair Robins, Photography Lecturer at Leicester College said: “I was delighted that my images were selected by the panel and proud that they’ll form part of Historic England’s collection. We also got to take a group of Leicester College students to the Derby FORMAT23 festival to see the images and the rest of the collection.

“I have really enjoyed spending my time photographing local people, buildings and areas of historical interest in and around Leicester (and surrounding towns). We live in a fascinating city!”

For more pictures of the Picturing High Streets project and other images, find Clair’s Instagram account at @clair_r_photo

Leicester College offers a range of photography, video and media courses, from part-time hobby courses to full-time BTECs and professional training courses.

Details of the photography courses available at Leicester College can be found at https://leicestercollege.ac.uk/courses/subjects/photography-media-and-video/