An exhibition featuring art telling the history of Kirknewton in comic book format has been launched.
The art, taken from The Kirknewton Story, will be on display at the Howden Park Centre in Livingston until April 9 and was launched recently with the help of Kirknewton Primary School.
The comic is made up from memories and stories from members of the Kirknewton community. Written by Colin Maxwell, it features the work of 23 artists.
The exhibition and comic also features work from Kirknewton Primary School children who researched the history of the area, shared stories with multigenerational workshops and produced their own comics with artist Kev F Sutherland.
Tony Foster, who has co-ordinated the exhibition, explains: “Comic reading inspires creativity and literacy for children and adults. The Kirknewton Story is a good example of how the medium can inform all ages on any subject, in this case making history come alive.”
The project follows in the footsteps of Kenneth Roy and T L Hardie who wrote the book ‘The Kirknewton Story’ 50 years ago.
Stories include Dr William Cullen the first mail order medic, Dalmahoy Castle, the Oakbank Disaster, UFO alien abduction and the connection to the JFK Assassination amongst many others.
Mr Maxwell added: “The book tells the story of the village based around the basalt rocks that can be found on nearby hills.
“It starts in prehistoric times with the formation of the rocks and ends with a piece of public art made of basalt that you can visit in the village by Charles Jencks.
“Everything from Romans to flying saucers are covered in the intervening years. Obviously, it will be of great interest to locals who perhaps don’t know much about the history of their home.
“But to outsiders, the wealth of artistic talent that has been involved makes the comic quite unique. We have the cover by the late Ian Kennedy, then pages within by artists who’ve worked on 2000AD, Marvel and DC comics.”
Everyone in Kirknewton got a free copy of the book as part of the project. You can buy a copy at the exhibition or by post at theshiftstore/products/the-kirknewton-story.
Further details can be found at comicscene.org.
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