Gallery of Discovery

By Gareth Williams, Head of Learning and Curator to the Weston Park Foundation 

The months since March have been hard for us all. Hard emotionally and in many, many other ways.

We have all experienced a time unlike any previous that any of us can remember and there are still uncertainties as we all go forwards into the future.

What has resonated for many people, given comfort, a degree of hope and provided some level of control in a sea of the unsure is human creativity.

The extraordinary GALLERY OF DISCOVERY seeks to share that creativity in a wide variety of forms.

On the Ground Floor of the Granary, in a newly curated Coffee Snug, we are showing a highly personal exhibition of lock-down creativity in a show called Gallery of Discovery. The exhibition follows emergency funding that was given at the height of the Corona Virus pandemic by Arts Council England to assist Weston Park. ‘We’re thrilled by the public response to the exhibition’ comments Gareth, ‘It has really captured the imagination of visitors, supporters of Weston Park, volunteers and staff – all of whom are represented in the works submitted and which include creative writing, crafts , painting, drawing, digital and video art. It is a remarkable showcase of the positive creativity which can emerge from something so negative as a global pandemic and we feel very proud to be offering this showcase.

It’s a celebration of inventiveness and imagination in visual and verbal form.

All of the works that you see are pieces that have been created by members of the public during the lock-down period and are a reflection of the period of Covid-19 and its global impact.

We’re proud to be showing them and the Weston Park Foundation thanks each participant including the winners of the Shropshire Virtual Show – whose works are also on display.

We’re also extremely grateful to Arts Council England and to National Lottery players for the Emergency Response Fund’s financial support that the Weston Park Foundation received at one of the most difficult points in the pandemic. As an independent conservation and education charity we face many challenges going forward and so if you have enjoyed this exhibition and the other free exhibitions in the Granary today please do consider making a donation to aid the future of our work.

 

Thank you for your support in visiting Weston Park