The 2006 People’s Show at Bath & North East Somerset
Council’s Victoria Art Gallery opens on Saturday, 24 June.
This summer’s exhibition is being curated by a women’s creative
arts group from Radstock called Out of the Blue.
Selecting pieces from the gallery’s extensive collection in
their vaults, the group has chosen a colourful and diverse
assortment of pieces from large oil portraits to contemporary
ceramics.
As well as choosing which works of art to display, each member
of the selection panel has produced a piece of artwork inspired by
their choice which will also be exhibited. People’s Shows
have been held by Bath & North East Somerset Council at the
Gallery over the past six years. They are based around the idea of
members of the local community coming in and choosing their
favourite pieces of work from the Gallery’s collection for
display.
Jon Benington, Manager of the Victoria Art Gallery, said:
“I am really looking forward to this year’s show.
“As well as putting together an exciting and varied exhibition from
our own collection, the inclusion of works of art from Out of the
Blue members holds out the promise of a vibrant and fascinating
show.”
Councillor Nicole O’Flaherty, Executive Member for Tourism,
Leisure and Culture said,
“The People’s Show is all about getting Bath & North East
Somerset residents to do it for themselves. Bath & North
East Somerset Council was delighted to offer Out of the Blue the
opportunity to choose works for this year’s exhibition and I look
forward to seeing their own works of art alongside their selection
from the Gallery’s vaults.”
Out of the Blue has been supported in this project by the
Radstock Art Project, a neighbourhood arts scheme from nesa, which
has provided advice and assistance in creating the artworks.
Out of the Blue is a self-help creative arts group for women
dealing with Post Natal Depression (PND). Out of the Blue was
formed as a community group to enable survivors and sufferers of
PND to meet regularly and take part in creative arts workshops.
Out of the Blue Chairperson Sam Williams says
“We are really proud that we are taking part in this
prominent exhibition, it means a lot to us to be recognised as a
valued part of the B&NES-wide community and to be given this
opportunity to highlight the ‘hidden’ illness of Post Natal
Depression”.
She continues, “I believe this is such a positive step for our
group and for women everywhere who have survived or are still
dealing with PND – to show everyone that we are fully functioning,
normal women who can hold down jobs, be fantastic mothers and
partners, and all the while still dealing with this terrible
illness – we are not necessarily the hysterical heaps everyone
thinks we are!”
Out of the Blue member, Karen Hearn says about the
exhibition
“It has given me such a sense of achievement and fun. Being
given the opportunity to create beautiful artwork and have it
displayed in a gallery is a very uplifting and welcome boost to us
all.”
ENDS
Notes for editors:
- Victoria Art GalleryBath & North East Somerset Council’s
Victoria Art Gallery attracted a record 95,400 visitors in 2005. It
is the museum most visited by local people. It is also the third
most visited museum in the Bath & North East Somerset catchment
area, topped only by the other two Council-run museums, the Museum
of Costume and the Roman Baths.
- The Victoria Art Gallery houses the area’s permanent collection
of British and European art from the 15th century to the present
day including works by Gainsborough, Turner and Sickert. The
gallery has one of the best temporary exhibition programmes in the
region, ranging from prints to sculpture, including national
touring exhibitions and major retrospectives. There are frequent
workshops, holiday activities and a full programme for
schools.
- The Victoria Art Gallery, near Pulteney Bridge, is open Tuesday
to Saturday, 10.00am to 5.00pm, Sunday 1.30pm to 5.00pm. The
Gallery is closed on Mondays with the exception of 28 August.
Admission is free.www.victoriagal.org.uk
