'I felt a presence': Ghost-hunting art exhibition set to premiere at Birley Studios

Led by their artist-dance teacher, three mediums will blindly descend on Preston’s old Citizen’s Advice Bureau in an effort to uncover the “benign spirit” that haunts its corner walls.

That’s the premise of an intriguing piece set to be debut on Friday (September 18) as part of Birley Studios’ annual Studio Members’ Exhibition.

‘Mixed Mediums’ is created by Preston artist Anthony D. Padgett, an artist, dance tutor, former RE teacher, and current student of Art and Religion at the University of Lancashire.

A self-identified ‘telempath’, he hopes his exhibition piece will give the similarly-spiritually-minded the chance to be seen and validated in their experiences.

“I’ve been at the Birley for about six years,” Anthony told the Lancashire Evening Post, “and every time I went through a particular space, I felt a presence.

“I spoke with people, and they were a bit like, ‘No, the place isn’t haunted’. But I run dance classes, and one of my customers is a medium, so I thought, ‘I’m going to check this’.

“I invited her along, and she brought other mediums to one of my classes, and so there were three mediums. They each independently walked around, and each one identified the same spot, and the same description of a person: their age, what era they were from, how they were dressed.

“It was a very strong presence. One even saw the spirit!”

While formerly operated as Preston’s Citizens Advice Bureau, Birley Studios officially took over the building in 2019.

Now providing a dedicated space for up to 30 artists to work, the Birley aims to give contemporary art and community projects a space so survive and thrive.

According to Anthony, creating the piece was “almost like a scientific experiment”.

“I’m studying at ULAN, looking at religion and doing my MPhil, so I’m open to different faith perspectives. Mediumship in the 19th century was seen as almost quite a scientific endeavour.

“What we’ve done here is like a blind test with three different mediums who have all come up with very similar conclusions.

“I would describe myself as ‘telempathic’ - which means that I feel people’s feelings. Not necessarily their thoughts. I think people an animals communicate in ways other than words that aren’t just body language: I think there are actual energies that are being transferred.

“An example is that you feel when someone’s looking at you. You’ve got your back to them and you turn around, and there they are! Or, you wonder how a person is, and you get a phone call off them.

“These are all everyday occurrences that we just put down to being coincidence. But is it that, or is it something that we’ve been educated away from being sensitive to?”

According to Anthony, these wider ideas of spirituality, theology, and extrasensory experiences have always had a profound impact on his work as an artist.

Having always had an affinity for drawing, his career of more than three decades has seen him win several awards, including first prize for the International Art & Technology Competition 2002.

His work in sculpture, film, and painting have been displayed in galleries around the world, and he now stands as the Lancashire Representative of the Artists Union England.

“We’re all artistic,” he said. “I’ve always been good at drawing, so art was encouraged for me, but art isn’t just about drawing and painting, it’s about expression.

“I’m quite an aesthetic person. I appreciate things, and it’s the same with religion: I appreciate it so much that I need to know more about where it’s all come from, where it’s all going, and what it’s all about.

“Preston is a brilliant city for that because it’s so multicultural. Spiritualism brings another lens to it, another way of seeing things as you pass through the cityscape.

“You see it all from your point of view, but do you see it how your neighbour sees it? The most difficult and the most rewarding thing in the world is to be able to see the world from someone else’s point of view, because we’re all so wrapped up in our own.

“I hope the response to this will be that people who have similar feelings will feel validated, and they won’t feel silly anymore,” he continued. “That they really do pick up on those things.

“We can all just be a little bit more sensitive and a bit more respectful towards people who do have those sensitivities. There is something in this.”

The full ‘Mixed Mediums’ film will premiere on YouTube at 6pm, and will feature Anthony alongside mediums Angey Issit, Karen Camm, and Elaine Power.

Those attending the exhibition in person will find a QR code to scan, as well as a large-scale painting to accompany the piece.

‘Mixed Mediums’ will form just one part of the Studio Members’ Exhibition, which will also feature the work of other artists at Birley Studios.

The exhibition will be open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays between 11am and 4pm until October 11.

Want the latest Lancashire news straight to your phone? Join our WhatsApp channel