The popular George Howard Gallery in Old Tullie House has been reimagined in a collaborative exhibition with Prism Art Studio Arts. Culture Collide is a year-long display which will give visitors a chance to explore an entirely new approach to Tullie House’s fine and decorative art collections.
The Prism Arts Studio Arts group have been inspired to take an alternative look at the Japanese collections, which are displayed alongside some never-before seen pieces at Tullie House, including work by Thomas Bushby, Sheila Fell, Utagawa Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai, and Percy Kelly.
Catherine Coulthard, CEO Prism Arts said: “We have been working collectively with Tullie Hose Museum and Art Gallery for a number of years developing new opportunities for our emerging artists to develop their practice by responding to exhibitions and exhibiting work ion the museum. This project is an exciting development as it has enabled our artists to work closely with the curatorial team which has proved an essential progression route for our emerging artists as they develop their work and engagement with new audiences.
This exhibition is the most ambitious project to date to explore collaborative working between guest curators from our communities and Tullie House’s curatorial team. This project brings together the individuals’ respective expertise and passion for visual art that has resulted in a unique exhibition.”
Claire Sleightholm, Project Curator at Tullie House: “It has been a real pleasure to work with these artists as guest curators on Cultures Collide. This process has offered up new ways of looking at familiar favourites from the collections and reconsider works that have not been displayed for a while, or ever.”
Whilst Japan and its traditional art are very different culturally and aesthetically to Cumbrian art, the Prism Arts group have explored the similarities which emerge when viewing works from both countries side by side. These connections are often exposed through the landscape, industry, home-life and even cats!
This January, Tullie House loaned some of its best-known Pre Raphaelite and Decorative Arts pieces from Old Tullie House to Japan for a high-profile exhibition tour, beginning in Tokyo this March. This gave Tullie House the opportunity to reimagine some of its collections and spaces and partly inspired the group’s choice to focus on our Japanese collections.
Gabrielle Heffernan, Curatorial Manager at Tullie House said “I’m incredibly excited to see so many of our pieces go on tour in Japan. The intricacy of such an important project has been an incredible experience for the team and will raise the profile of Carlisle in the Japanese market.”
The exhibition is open until Sunday 26 January 2020, normal admission charges apply.
