Following the periods of COVID lockdown I thought it would be a Good Idea to organise an exhibition to encourage people to celebrate the return the much missed social space and to encourage people to show so in August 2022 I organised a small exhibition in Newhampton Arts Centre (the NAC) in Dunkley Street, Wolverhampton. It was cheap and cheerful and open to the first fifteen or so artists I could persuade to cough up the minimum necessary to hire the gallery.
In the event it was a successful exhibition. It didn’t sell very much, but it was generally well attended with positive responses from everyone who visited.
Two things came out of the exhibition: the first was that there are many people who love to paint and draw but who typically don’t think of themselves as artists and don’t consider exhibiting their work.
In the meantime, two friends who had studios in the NAC, Chris Manley and Paul Owen set up a Community Interest Company, a not for profit organisation to make the creation and exhibition of art available to everyone. They made their studios available for classes and workgroups and set up a bereavement arts group . Chris Manley had already been doing significant work with Good Shepherd, who work with homeless people and provide a food bank.
We decided to organise an exhibition which would be open to all comers. Art 4 All was launched by the City Mayor on 24th March 2023 and has been a resounding success with 93 exhibitors showing 281 pieces of work, 960 visitors visitors and the sale of 27 works. It also included a talk by Ukrainian artist Tatiana Z of Mariupol, reflecting her experience of surviving the attack on the city, its subsequent destruction and her ultimate escape to the UK.
Ralph Aldhous Art 