A HISTORIC Padiham stately home will house a major new piece of art with which visitors can interact.

Mid Pennine Arts and Lancashire County Council's museum service has announced the latest contemporary heritage commission has been awarded to the renowned British artist Catherine Bertola.

Following a research period based at Gawthorpe Hall, which will take place over the next few months, Ms Bertola will create a site specific installation made up of multiple pieces of work that visitors can interact with.

Her work will be on show at the hall from March next year.

Inspired by an initial visit to the Hall, Catherine was drawn to the Edwardian photograph albums on display that portray Gawthorpe and the Shuttleworth family.

She said: “I am fascinated by how photography captures and preserves fleeting moments of time, allowing us a glimpse into the past from the present.

“The images in the albums provided a different view of the rooms I had walked through, illustrating how they were once inhabited, filled with the clutter of everyday life as opposed to the stripped back and orderly manner in which the rooms are now presented.

“I am interested in how the space can be seen from different perspectives, through the eyes of different people who have occupied the space over the course of its history.”

Catherine’s art involves creating installations, objects and drawings that respond to specific sites, collections and historic contexts.

The final pieces she creates will be made with the involvement of the Padiham community who live in the vicinity of the Hall. The whole work will acknowledge the Shuttleworth family who called Gawthorpe home for over 300 years, as well as the extensive textile and costume collections housed on site.