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A Tribute to MARTIN PARR — and how New Brighton can make it Happen
Some towns borrow their cultural history. New Brighton made its own. In the early 1980s a photographer named Martin Parr walked our seafront with a camera and made The Last Resort — a body of work that changed how Britain saw itself.
The deckchairs and the ice cream. The sunburn, the prams, the chip forks and the litter. Ordinary days at the seaside, shot with wit, colour and unflinching honesty. It became one of the most important photographic series ever made. And it was made here.
When Martin Parr died in December 2025, tributes came from across the art world. But for New Brighton it was personal. This isn’t art history to us. It’s local memory, identity and pride, all standing on the same stretch of promenade.
So we are building him a tribute. Not a plaque. Not a footnote. A permanent, public artwork on the streets where the work was made — created together with the Martin Parr Foundation, and taking its place in New Brighton’s OpenAir Gallery.
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WHY HERE, AND WHY NOW
Over the past eight years the Victoria Quarter has quietly become one of the most concentrated clusters of large-scale street art in the UK — a walkable, open-air gallery approaching 40 works. A tribute to Martin Parr is the most significant chapter yet. It doesn’t need explaining to anyone who knows the town. It belongs here, because the work belongs here.
MORE THAN A MURAL
This was never going to be just a wall. The tribute comes in three parts, and together they make a cultural moment for the whole town.
First, the mural itself — a landmark piece on the OpenAir Gallery. Second, a schools photography project: through the New Brighton Arts Festival 2026, 200 children from across Wallasey and the Wirral will each be handed a single-use camera and sent out to photograph their own town, Parr-style. The best image from every child will be printed and exhibited. And third, an exhibition of Martin Parr’s photography in the Panoramic Room at the Floral Pavilion, presented with the Martin Parr Foundation.
WERE YOU THERE?
Here is the part that gives us goosebumps. Martin photographed hundreds of people on this seafront in the 1980s — children on the beach, families in the cafés, faces in the crowd. Many of them are still here today. Part of this project is to find them, and to gather the memories of everyone who remembers those days. Alongside the exhibition, there will be a space for residents and visitors to share their own stories of New Brighton — a living, community record of the town that inspired the work.
HOW RESIDENTS CAN GET INVOLVED
If you, or someone in your family, was photographed during The Last Resort — or you simply have memories of those seafront summers — we want to hear from you. Your story is part of this. You can also back the project directly through our fundraiser, share it with friends, and help us spread the word. Every contribution, large or small, goes straight into bringing the tribute to life.
HOW BUSINESSES AND BRANDS CAN GET INVOLVED
This is a rare chance for local businesses to put their name to one of New Brighton’s most ambitious cultural projects. Sponsorship runs across four tiers — Gold, Silver, Bronze and Friend — from headline naming partners through to micro-businesses and individuals, each with billing across the project, the launch and the press.
There’s a bigger opportunity here too. Martin Parr’s world was built on cameras, film and the great British day out — which makes this a natural fit for photography, seaside and heritage brands looking for a genuine, meaningful association rather than a logo on a banner. If that’s you, we’d love to talk.
A LASTING TRIBUTE
This is how a town honours one of its own. Not with a one-off event, but with something permanent, public and shared — made with the people who live here, for the people who live here. Every penny stays in New Brighton’s creative future.
Let’s make a tribute worthy of Martin Parr. To get involved, donate or discuss sponsorship, visit www.hellonewbrighton.com/martin-parr
