An Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme Exhibition
What does 'home' mean to you?
When the first lockdown was announced on 23 March 2020, our homes and how we lived within them changed completely. ‘Home’ began to take on a new meaning as it became more than just a living space but where all elements of life played out, from schooling and studying to working and socialising – and often the only connection to the outside world came through digital media and video calls.
This changing relationship with our homes as the weeks and months rolled on is explored in the exhibition - House Share - opening on 26 June at Firstsite, Colchester. Curated by Firstsite’s Young Art Kommunity (YAK) group, working in partnership with Firstsite and the Arts Council Collection, as part of the National Partners Programme 2019-22, House Share responds to the group’s experiences during the three UK lockdowns.
As arguably the generation most negatively affected by the pandemic and lockdown, the YAK members, all aged 16-25 years old, use the exhibition to examine how their home took on a dual role as a creative and safe space, but also encompassed feelings of being confined.
House Share is the first in a series of exhibitions curated by young people across the three National Partner sites. Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange will follow with their exhibition, SEEN, in October 2021, and Sunderland Culture will host their exhibition curated by Young Curators, Celebrate Different, in early 2022. The Young People's Collaborative Exhibitions aim to bring young people together from across the country, connecting them with each other and with the Arts Council Collection.
Artists featured in this exhibition: Andrew Grassie, Andy Holden, Anthony Devas, David Batchelor, Hayley Tompkins, Janice Kerbel, Jean-Luc Vilmouth, Jenny Holzer, Matthew Dalziel & Louise Scullion, and Tracy Mackenna.