Art by Post launched in May 2020 to provide free creative activities to people across the UK at risk of social isolation, loneliness and digital exclusion. The project commissioned 17 artists to make 11 activity booklets that were sent to over 4,500 participants with the help of numerous referral partners. More than 600 poems, drawings, paintings and mixed media works were posted back in response, and here you can view the entire collection.
The booklets’ themes have been the guiding logic for organising a curated selection of participants’ artworks and for commissioning new works for the exhibition in The Royal Festival Hall from 20 Sep – 3 Oct. The exhibition then toured to a further six venues nationwide including; The Mill Arts Centre and Banbury Museum & Gallery, Oxfordshire; Arts Centre Washington, Sunderland; The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury; HOME, Manchester; De Montfort University, Leicester.
The exhibition’s focal points – ‘Nature’, ‘Sound & Movement’ and ‘Hope’ – highlight the basic needs that continue to be vital to us all: green spaces, music, dance, physical activity and people to share these experiences with. The exhibition makes visible the spirit and talent of the participants and the dedicated artists and organisations that have supported them.
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Art by Post: Of Home and Hope - Virtual Tour
Take a virtual tour of the Art by Post exhibition at Southbank Centre with it's curator, Persilia Caton as she describes her approach and takes a closer look at some of the artworks.