Local community groups choose art to go on display in new Usher Gallery exhibition.
Opening on Saturday 10 June, Community Choice features around 30 artworks chosen by five different Lincoln-based community groups.
The groups are:
- Development Plus Men’s Group
- Bridge Community Hub Foodbank
- The Creative Collective, the museum’s very own young people’s group,
- The Friends of Lincoln Museums and Art Gallery; and,
- The Usher Gallery Trust.
Each group was given a broad theme to work with: Colour, Lincoln, People, History, and Nature. With this theme in mind, the groups then chose the items they wanted to display from around 500 pieces from the county’s vast collection.
Many of the items going on display as part of the exhibition have not been seen by the public in decades, if ever.
Laura Garner, exhibitions and interpretation assistant at the Usher Gallery, explains:
“Community Choice shows what incredible things can happen when you open up the doors of the gallery to new and enthusiastic voices. It’s about breaking down the barriers that prevent some people from coming to a gallery and appreciating art.
“What initially started as social media project – working with local groups to choose items to feature on our social media channels – has now evolved into a physical exhibition, curated by people who wouldn’t ordinarily get this kind of opportunity.
“All of these groups work with Lincoln Museum and Usher Gallery in different ways, and have different experiences and approaches when it comes to art. It is the county’s art collection, and it’s the county’s people who’ve decided exactly which pieces from it they want to see.”
As part of the exhibition, visitors are encouraged to use the central, social space in the gallery to share their own ideas about the chosen works, and how we can further involve the community in future projects at Lincoln Museum and Usher Gallery.
Following a recent uplift in funding from Arts Council England, over the next three years we are exploring new ways to engage communities in our exhibitions and events, and your feedback will help shape that ongoing programme.
Community Choice is on display at the Usher Gallery, on Danes Terrace in Lincoln, until 8 October 2023. Entry is free.
Plan your visit now at www.ushergallery.com.