Firstsite and Chappel Galleries

 

Firstsite has an inclusive and evolving programme which immerses audiences in a wealth of visual art bringing this into the heart of the community. The gallery works with the community to explore and address current issues within politics, economics and culture, addressing and exploring urgent themes such as housing, migration, inequality, regeneration and healthcare. Their ambition is that these help shape who they are: a public site, open and accessible, diverse and inclusive and used by all. Every part of their artistic programme is shared and co-authored.

Today's programme included:

• Afro Futures_UK: Unravelling New Futures is an exhibition of digital and multimedia art, exploring how the intersection of the black experience, technology and historical narratives can inspire new ways of thinking critically about the future.
• Artist Mark Titchner has produced a new series of public artworks across Colchester, entitled ‘Some questions about Colchester’, which are placed in the windows of vacant shop units around the town centre. Brexit, social, civic and national identity, displacement and belonging are some of the themes explored in this exhibition.
• The Colchester and Ipswich Art Societies explore their mutual border, the River Stour, in an exhibition called Borders that celebrates the thriving creativity of the region, the joy of making and the enjoyment and well-being gained through experiencing art.
• The sight of the physical devastation to London’s east end, caused by Second World War bombing raids, is one of Phyllida Barlow’s earliest childhood memories. The destruction and repair of the urban environment has since become one of her principle inspirations. This presentation of her sculptures in the Welcome Area is symbolic of the dismantling of our contemporary society and the repair needed to our collective mental health in the face of the current pandemic.
• ‘Lockdown Garden’ features tranquil watercolour landscapes of the garden at Feeringbury Manor in Essex, created by the artist during the imposed lockdown. Whilst shielding, Sonia Coode-Adams took the opportunity to return to painting after a hiatus of many years, and through this series of artworks she celebrates the garden and explores the soothing influence of nature as the landscape transitions from spring to summer.
• Firstsite and the Arts Council Collection present ‘Tell me the story of all these things’, featuring artworks made by some of Britain’s best-known artists, including Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Cornelia Parker and Gillian Wearing – each selected by radical women of Colchester. Civic leaders, community organisers, artists, designers, politicians, mothers and the Colchester business owners have worked with Firstsite to curate this exhibition which examines the role of emotion and soft power in our society and how this can be used positively to connect and empower us. Artworks have been specifically selected based on the emotions, stories and memories they provoked, and these are presented in the gallery to explore the group’s question, “How do we create a show about empowerment which is also empowering to experience?”

Set in the picturesque Colne Valley backing onto the River Colne, Chappel Galleries is an out of town gallery overlooking the romanesque 32 arch working railway Chappel Viaduct. Drawn from the 20th & 21st century, Chappel Galleries sells work by artists who are grounded in the skill of painting, drawing and making of sculpture. They like to retain their identity by selling the work of artists from the region, including those who, although not living here, have regional connections.

Their August Mixed Exhibition 2020 includes works by Claire Cansick, Michael Crowe, Mary Griffiths, Peter Rodulfo, Ronald Ronaldson, Paul Rumsey, David Stone, and Robin Warnes. They also have online exhibitions by resident artist Władysław Mirecki and 'Two Decades' of work by Paul Rumsey.

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Gillian Welch - Strange Isabella.