Full of Noises

Full of Noises is an artist-led organisation working with sound  and experimental music. In 2010 we moved into Piel View  House, a charming but slightly dilapidated former park  keepers’ house in Barrow Park. 

Immediately, we started to think about how artists might  respond to working in the park and with the bandstand,  boating lake and pitch and putt course. As a pilot, we held  monthly installation and performance events on the  bandstand through the Winter months and went on to  produce many weird but family-friendly events as part of our  festival programme. 

Between 2010 and 2020, many artists, public and guests  passed through the space, arriving for short residencies,  workshops, and even the odd overnight camping session.  Despite being a great place to make art and sound, it was never  particularly accessible or warm and we continued to  programme most of our live events in venues around Barrow

As our vision for the festival began to shift, we considered  working on a smaller scale with a view to presenting intimate,  regular events in the park. Over a number of years, we worked  with architect and musician Jonathan Lindh of LEDA to rethink  Piel View and how it might become a low-carbon studio and  events centre. We completed phase one of the renovation in  2022, adding a new public performance space and improving  the existing ground floor. Since then, we’ve hosted over 60  events in the space and have welcomed over 1,000 people  through the doors.

During the lengthy renovation, we invited photographer Phil Green  to capture the process and the changing face of the building. For  this publication, Phil has taken us back to his initial shoot at Piel  View, a transitional moment recording a series of almost-empty  domestic spaces with only the things that are left once the skips  have been towed away and the boxes packed. 

Glen Boulter. FoN