Beyond The Obvious 2 Uncovered roundup
Thank you to all the artists and attendees to BTO2 Uncovered in Sheffield in February. The exhibition was visited by a range of Sheffield locals, some from further afield across Yorkshire. Groups of students, local artists, poets, painters, writers, a graphic novels illustrator, musicians as well as members of arts groups, curators, support workers, art appreciators and general members of the public.
Alongside some of the artwork from the BTO2 artists, the layout of the space meant 6 questions/provocations would be used. They were:
How are we able to thrive independently
What do you stand for and importantly when and where?
What categories are assigned to you?
What do we want to share with whom and how much?
What is the change we need to make?
Is the Yorkshire and Humber region different-if so how?
These questions were written on the wall in chalk pen and visitors were encouraged to write on the wall in response.
There was a really positive reaction to the exhibition with people commenting that they came in for inspiration and were interested to see the arts activity happening in Sheffield. A few people were looking for an arts workspace or exhibition space and some were familiar with the artists in the exhibition.
Great critical feedback from visitors including that it was an accessible space on a main pedestrian thoroughfare in the city centre, a suggestion there should be more opportunities to socialise with the peer network.
We had some useful thoughts and ideas shared in our participatory element of the exhibition through our provocations and feedback was that people appreciated the opportunity to share their thoughts and take part in the event. Although they weren’t directly linked to the arts and culture sector, these thoughts make up the context in which arts and culture operate, which is paramount. Watch this space for more BTO2 news! For now, find out more about the project here.
Artists/contributors to the BTO project:
Yuen Fong Ling, Zanib Rasool, Glynis Neslen, Kedisha Coakley, Ashley Holmes, JJ Chan, Chinwe Russell, Alastair Gittens, Gretchen Sandiford, Janet Wallace, Sile Sibanda, Shaheen Shah, Debjani Chatterjee, Uzma Rani, Azizah Raghib, Sunshine Wong, Jade Montserrat