Artists who have struggled through pandemic join ‘Showcase’ of talent
More people visit galleries and museums than attend football matches.
Spokesperson for Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax.
A NEW exhibition designed to raise the profile of artists who have struggled during the pandemic and “highlight the exceptional quality” of their work is now open to the public.
Showcase features the work of more than 100 ambitious artists, from the likes of Sheffield, Hull, Liverpool and Middlesbrough, at Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax.
A spokesperson for the galleries said: “The work ranges across all styles and various media, reflecting the deliberate lack of dogmatism that characterises the Dean Clough galleries.
“In other words, there is something here for everyone to like and to object to, naturally.
“The strategic intention was not to pompously proclaim that the work was ‘the best in the North’ – rather to highlight the exceptional quality of the visual arts in the region; and in that, Showcase succeeds admirably.
“Perhaps what we hadn’t expected was to so thoroughly illustrate the depth of engagement that the visual arts enjoys across the UK.
“It’s often stated, but barely reflected in the media, that more people visit art galleries and museums than attend football matches.
“The variety of practitioners taking part in Showcase is a testament to a creative urge that remains more innately human than even the love of money and that is surely something to celebrate.”
The free-entry exhibition is open to the public seven days a week, between 10am and 5pm, until April 25.
The official opening of the exhibition was last weekend, to coincide with the 231st birthday of Halifax’s famous 18th century industrialist and lesbian, Anne Lister.
The BBC series Gentleman Jack is based on her life.