As part of the National Partners Programme, the second round of National Partners for 2019-22 will present works from the Arts Council Collection in unique and surprising ways as part of their 2020 exhibition programmes, including meaningful collaborations with their surrounding communities.
The National Partners for 2019-22 are Firstsite (Colchester), Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange (Penzance) and Sunderland Culture. Working closely with members of the community including local students and charities, each National Partner has opened up the curation process to showcase the Arts Council Collection through the lens of different experiences and perspectives.
Peter Heslip, Director, Visual Arts, Arts Council England says: “We want everyone, everywhere to have the opportunity to have incredible creative and cultural experiences. This is central to Let’s Create, our strategy for the next ten years. This programme is about empowering visual arts professionals to invent new ways to bring art into the lives of an even wider range of people. England has some of the most dynamic art galleries and the Arts Council Collection's National Partner Programme is a chance for them to take risks and have full access to our Collection in support of this. The public activities being launched now give a taste of this ambition and a very serious commitment to serving their communities.”
Firstsite recently presented Super Black; co-curated by people from Essex’s black community with Arts Council Collection artworks alongside new work by Southend-based artist, Elsa James, the show explored the experiences of black people living in Britain today.
In 2020 Firstsite presents Tell me the story of all these things, an exhibition co-curated by women living in Colchester including civic leaders, community organisers, artists, designers, politicians, mothers and business owners. Firstsite will also collaborate with Refugee Action - Colchester for an exhibition that responds to questions posed by refugees and asylum seekers living in Colchester to create a multi-sensory and participatory experience exploring themes including the transience of life.