Anna Raczynski created video portraits of twenty-two individuals, capturing their particular memories and impressions of Preston Bus Station. The participants come from across the city and further afield. Each interview has been carefully edited to capture the essence of their encounter with the building.

The people range from bus drivers and architects to students and writers, representing different genders and cultures, ages and status. The portraits reveal the personality of each person, allowing them to share their encounters and measured, insightful observations. The final collection of voices maps the social architecture, and both critical and supportive comments combine to reveal the importance of the building to the city.

Beautiful and Brutal: 50 Years in the Life of Preston Bus Station, a collaboration between Professor Charles Quick of In Certain Places and Curator of History James Arnold of the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library was a programme of new contemporary artist commissions culminating in an exhibition at the Harris Museum, and supplemented by an events programme that included architectural tours, a birthday party event hosted at Preston Bus Station itself and a conference hosted at the Harris. The project that set out to examine, reveal and promote the building’s significance to the people of Preston in terms of architecture, urban planning, social engagement and a source of artistic inspiration.