Chichester's Live Advent Calendar
Residents of North Pallant in Chichester are to turn their windows into a live Advent Calendar this Christmas in a unique project organised by Pallant House Gallery.
Each household and business participating in the scheme will take it in turns to decorate a window facing onto North Pallant and unveil it to the public every day throughout the month of Advent. By the end of the month the street will resemble a ‘live advent calendar’ with numbered windows from one to 24.
Curator of Pallant House Gallery, Frances Guy, came up with the idea after seeing a similar scheme in operation in St Nicholas Road, Brighton, which has been running successfully since the mid 1990s.
“I have always loved seeing the extraordinary displays in Brighton in December,” she says. “I thought it would be wonderful to recreate a similar idea in North Pallant, and bring together our neighbours as a community, whilst also brightening up North Pallant, which can be so dark and unappealing at this time of year.”
Jackie-Ann of Pallant Hair, who will be decorating her windows on the ninth and tenth, expressed her enthusiasm for the venture: “I thought it would be a great project to be part of,” she says. “Christmas should be all about community, and this will really light up North Pallant.”
Pallant House Gallery will open the display with numbers one and two of the ‘calendar’, designed by Brighton-based artist, David Miles. The Gallery Bookshop will bring the project to an end with the final window, number 24.
Other participants, as well as the residents of North Pallant, include Favourite Cat Projects, Rathbones, and Chichester City Club.
Pallant House Gallery hope that eventually the event will build to include every household and business in the street, and become part of the Chichester Christmas calendar of events.
“People travel for miles to see the street in Brighton,” says Frances Guy. “I would love that to happen here in North Pallant and make it a destination for residents and visitors to Chichester.