Nottingham prides itself on offering a diverse choice of gallery exhibitions from a range of different artists, many of which are free or affordable even for a student budget. With so much choice, here’s a look at three of the best ones to keep your eyes peeled for.
Focus Gallery
Focus is Nottingham’s longest running gallery, specialising in arts and crafts from around the UK. They are currently hosting their second solo showcase from 2nd March to 14th April, displaying award-winning artist Jennifer Collier’s work. In this artsy exhibition, Jennifer uses paper as the basis of her artwork, taking it from books, maps, envelopes, wallpaper and scrap, and transforming and manipulating it to construct two and three-dimensional objects. If you’re into some chilled wandering about whilst looking at pieces of art and how they are constructed, this is probably the one for you.
The next exhibition coming up at Focus is the New Talent exhibition. Taking place in the ground floor gallery, it is a brand new exhibition celebrating the new, up and coming talent in Nottingham. The exhibition will feature 20 early-career artists who have never exhibited to the public before, showing several forms of art. The preview evening is Wednesday 11th April from 5-7:30pm. This is a good exhibition for supporting the local community, as well as the perfect event for networking if you’re an artsy individual yourself.
“If you have a love for art and all things Nottingham, you’ll love this”
Later on in the year, from the 20th April until 2nd June you can go and see professional artist David Evans exhibiting his Sherwood Forest inspired art at Focus. Evans’ work varies from figure work and portraiture to abstract landscapes, as he brings scenes to life through his unique style. David specifically draws inspiration from the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest and is heavily influenced by classic design with his motivation being to simply “create beautiful art”. If you have a love for art and all things Nottingham, you’ll love this.
Nottingham Contemporary
One of the more well-known galleries amongst students, Nottingham Contemporary is an international art centre with a strong sense of local purpose. Their exhibitions have been described as “constantly inventive” by The Observer.
An exhibition to look out for at the Contemporary is The House of Fame, an ambitious exhibition conceived by British artist and musician Linder. The exhibition is open from 24th March until 24th June, with a free-entry exhibition launch on 23rd March from 6:30-11pm. The exhibition looks back at Linder’s work, showcasing a selection of photos, graphics, costume and performance spanning over a period of 40 years. Emerging from the Manchester punk and post-punk scenes in the 1970s, Linder focuses on questions of gender, commodity and display. The House of Fame draws upon Linder’s influences and collaborations, and her work in this exhibition is presented alongside almost 200 other pieces of work from other artists, specially selected by Linder. These works stretch from the 1600s to today and bring together the worlds of art, architecture, fashion, theatre, music and design; something that is likely to appeal to a vast audience.
“Ye Funa addresses and plays with the boundaries between daily life and contemporary art, exploring the effects of new media and globalisation on cultural identity and gender”
If you’re looking for something a bit more out of the ordinary, Ye Funa: From Hand to Hand, also at the Nottingham Contemporary, is the exhibition for you. This exhibition also opens on 24th March, but only lasts until 7th May. Ye Funa addresses and plays with the boundaries between daily life and contemporary art, exploring the effects of new media and globalisation on cultural identity and gender. For the exhibition, Ye will produce a new episode in her online peep-stream series, addressing society’s current desire to display ourselves through selfies, webchats and social media. Ping-Pong Stream, an interactive live-streamed performance, will focus on China’s diminishing interest in ping pong, as a result of further interest in celebrity sports such as basketball and football. The final video will be embedded in an immersive installation that converts the Project Space into a nail salon. During this, nails become the exhibition space as Ye artificially reforms the natural extremities of the body. Nail technicians from Nottingham College will even be in the gallery on several days, so go along and who knows, maybe you’ll be able to get your nails done!
New Art Exchange
New Art Exchange is a contemporary art space in Nottingham that celebrates the region’s cultural richness and diversity, and is the largest gallery in the UK dedicated to culturally diverse contemporary visual arts.
If you’re into something a bit more serious or historical, Lichtung will take place outside of the New Art Exchange from 31st March until 29th April. To launch their new White Rose Appeal, the National Holocaust Memorial Centre in Nottinghamshire has commissioned a major photographic/ film work by the Nottingham based artist, Katja Hock. This exhibition explores what led to millions of people being killed during the Holocaust and will appear on the exterior of New Art Exchange’s building. With projections being visible to visitors 24 hours a day during its run, Hock works with both still and moving imagery, frequently using black and white to deal with the subject of memory and the passing of time.
Alana McKenna
Featured image courtesy of Per Gosche via Flickr.
Image license here.
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