The dramatically changing weather across the north of England has long been an obsession of artists working in the region - from the dark skies of Lowryʼs satanic mills to the exquisite light over the Lakes depicted by Turner.
Paintings, drawings and textiles helped people understand their locality and provided a sense of place at that time but are still relevant to us in our everyday lives.
Here at The Northerner we wanted to bring that idea into the digital age so weʼve joined forces with the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester to pilot this weekly series called artcast.
In the first digital project of its type, the Whitworth curators will research the collection to bring you weekly images which directly links to the dayʼs weather somewhere in the north - maybe where you are.
"98% of the material will have never been seen before," explains assistant curator of fine art Helen Stalker.
The challenge is to have everything photographed and digitised. A digital object has the possibility of being seen by millions of people so itʼs an integral part of a drive to open up the collection.
We're hoping this will inspire people to consider their own region in relation to these timeless and unifying images – and will hopefully create some online dialogue. A great way to explore the collection on a daily basis.
Click here to access the first artcast.
• The full data set from this project will also be made available to the Culture Hack North in Leeds on November 12/13
