Art Commons – Cabinet of Curiosities, Thursday 3rd September

Jo Ray and Charlie MacKeith, our 25×25 artists in residence, have been working on The ‘Seldom Seen’ collection (2013), which was Art Gene’s collaborative take on a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, developed between the team and local residents, for the Ship Inn on Piel Island.

Its original purpose was to engage people living in and visiting the area with the multi-faceted story of Barrow and the islands. Thirteen years later, the collection is back at the Nan Tait Centre, and we are in the process of asking what kind of effect it had, and what could happen next in the life of this work. What could it offer to Barrow, now?

Jo and Charlie have been exploring how re-activating, re-constituting this work (the collection, the process, and its context) acts on us. What questions form as we sift through the physical, administrative, and emotional matters of the work?

There will be an opportunity to explore some practical ways of approaching collective inquiry with objects, and how the ‘cabinet’ could evolve.

It is also the first session of Art Commons, Art Gene’s new social group held monthly, open to everyone interested in the visual arts and to connect with others in Furness.

Mezzanine Gallery, Art Gene, Bath Street Entrance, Barrow-in-Furness LA14 5TY

Booking preferred here.