Iconic mining landscapes in Cornwall and Devon are set to inspire experts, artists and the public alike thanks to a chance to get creative at a series of community open events in each of the ten World Heritage areas this summer.

Sharing stories of Cornwall and West Devon’s mining past is at the heart of the Picturing the Mines project, which will create new interactive maps that will stand the test of time and be a resource for the future.

Artists Jesse Smith and Bernard Irwin are asking artists, students, book and map conservators, mining experts and the general public to imaginatively map their heritage and learn about the copper etching that will be used to make ten new images that picture the globally important mining landscape.

Devised and coordinated by Bernard and Jesse, the touring project has been commissioned by the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site (WHS) as part of their epic Tinth celebrations.

Town halls, festivals, mining museums, gardens and community spaces across the ten designated WHS mining areas, will be transformed into inspiring workspaces for the team to create ten unique large scale pictorial maps reflecting the specific heritage, stories and background of the areas, including Tavistock and West Devon.

Using archival films, soundscapes and research, the project is inviting the public to share in the creative process as it happens and discuss stories and mining themes and futures.

Taking inspiration from these events, Irwin and Leroy-Smith will create a suite of ten copper plate etchings, seeking out themes particularly relevant to each area and igniting a passion for enduring imagery.

In July 2006, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this remarkable achievement in 2016, the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Partnership is supporting a summer-long set of inspirational events and experiential happenings entitled Tinth, of which Picturing the Mines is part.

Bernard Irwin, one of the artists behind the project said: ’Picturing the Mines, an Atlas will create images that strike a chord and reinvent how the public engage with the iconic buildings and landscapes of the WHS around Tavistock and West Devon, creating engaging and exciting objects that can be shared with future generations.’

Bernard added: ’The themes and subjects of the maps and copper etchings will be as varied, complex and fascinating as the tapestry of the mining landscape itself; it’s people, settlements, buildings, industries and the mines themselves.’

The suite of prints taken from the ten copper plate etchings will be first exhibited at Falmouth Art Gallery from September 10, 2016, before it is exhibited far and wide in an echo of Cornwall and Devon’s mining diaspora across the world.

Councillor Julian German, chairman of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Partnership, said: ’Our Cornish mining ancestors were international entrepreneurs, who propelled mining into a new industrial era, on a worldwide scale. It wasn’t an easy journey for anyone then, and in many ways, it is a difficult history.

’However, this year, Tinth will bring alive the past, showing its meaning and significance in the present – and for the future.’

Councillor German added: ’Special projects like Picturing The Mines show we still share this same gritty ambition and ingenuity with our ancestors. Tinth will elevate Cornish and West Devon Mining, highlighting its distinctiveness and importance through scale, rich stories and spectacle. We will be taking people right across the peninsula on a series of adventures and experiences that help them to learn, understand and ultimately feel great about their heritage.’

Artist Bernard Irwin said: ’Our Picturing the Mines pictorial maps will be gathered together to form a unique "Atlas", with beautiful presentation boxes for the maps and copper plate etchings by partnering with conservation experts PZ Conservation and tin working specialists St Justins. These will be kept for future generations forming a lasting legacy that both celebrates and commemorates the WHS Tinth Anniversary and their specific locations across Cornwall and West Devon.’

Picturing the Mines comes to Tavistock and West Devon on May 26, from 11am - 7pm at Tavistock Town Hall and will focus on mining architecture and housing.