Exhibitions 2016
Nothing Happens, Twice: Artists Explore Absurdity
Exhibition
6 February - 4 June 2016
Imagine Neanderthals living in Preston Bus Station and around the city ... what Jackson Pollock's wife really thought ... and how a talking shoe might gossip over the garden fence.
Preston Bus Station is part of the inspiration for Nathaniel Mellors’ new film, winner of the Contemporary Art Society Annual Award, and showing here for the first time as part of the exhibition.
Read more: Nothing Happens, Twice: Artists Explore Absurdity
House of Ferment
Special Event
Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September 2016
Join us for a weekend of talks, demonstrations and tastings - and get involved by donating your own fruit and veg!
The House of Ferment is a live, pop-up larder by Grizedale Arts in collaboration with artist and food enthusiast Karen Guthrie.
The spectacular, copper clad unit includes functional art by invited artists Laure Prouvost, Ryan Gander and Bedwyr Williams, as well as heirloom kitchen equipment and countless home-made preserves to try. The House of Ferment seeks contributions from local home cooks wherever it travels, and hosts food activists, innovators and other specialists from the food, health and environmental fields as well as dinners, talks and food events. It uses Karen’s longstanding collection of fermented food cultures as an impetus for creative exchange, dialogue and learning.
Painting with Rainbows: Michael Foreman
Exhibition
9 July – 6 November 2016
Michael Foreman has been creating well-loved children's books, as both illustrator and author, for over 50 years. This popular exhibition makes a perfect family day out in Preston. You can enjoy original artworks, playful props, films, books and family activities that will encourage the whole family to become part of Michael's magical storytelling world.
Preston, Our City, Your City
Stairway Exhibition
26 November - 19 February 2017
Preview
Friday 25 November: 6.00 - 7.30pm
The daily lives, loves, challenges, and passions of the people of Preston captured on disposable cameras. During May 2016, 200 disposable cameras were given out across the communities of Preston by The Foxton Centre. The use of disposable cameras provided access for groups that ordinarily wouldn't have the means or opportunity to engage in the creative process.
Harris Open Exhibition 2016
Exhibition
26 November 2016 – 7 January 2017
The Harris Open is a fresh and vibrant annual exhibition that gives the people of Preston a chance to shine! Artists from all backgrounds and all levels of experience, including professional, are invited to submit one or two of their most recent works to go on display, with children welcome to take part too.
Preston at War 1916 to 1918
Stairway Exhibition
From 23 July 2016
This exhibition explores the impact of the First World War on Preston and is displayed alongside the Preston First World War Roll of Honour.
Bound by Process: Printmaking Historical & Contemporary
Two Venue Exhibition
12 February - 23 April 2016 at the Harris
12 February - 3 March 2016 at UCLan PR1 Gallery
Working with fine art graduates at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) we are discovering more about the Harris’ 20th century print collection, uncovering hidden gems that have not been displayed
in recent years.
Read more: Bound by Process: Printmaking Historical & Contemporary
Black History Connections: Local African and Caribbean Stories
Discover Preston display
26 September 2015 - 25 June 2016
Spotlight On ... Black History Connections: Local African and Caribbean Stories
Find out about the ancient connections between Lancashire and Africa; stories of individual triumph in the face of adversity and the flourishing of the Windrush generation.
Read more: Black History Connections: Local African and Caribbean Stories
Postcard to Preston
Stairway Exhibition
8 April to 14 July 2016
Artist Laura Jamieson has sent almost 2000 miniature artworks to each of the addresses listed for the men remembered on Preston's WW1 Roll of Honour. She is seeking to build a new community that reflects those joined together through losing loved ones. See both the artworks and responses in this exhibition. postcardtopreston.com
Preston Remembers in Focus: Percy Day
Fine Art Galleries
From 16 March 2016
See The Eleventh Hour, the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month, 1918 by Percy Day. The painting is the focus of a project with children from Weeton Primary School who are all from military families. Working with artist Nicola Colclough they have explored themes around remembrance, emotions and family relationships.
They have made a free magazine which is available to pick up in the gallery.
Homing by Jen Southern and Sam Thulin
Sound Art Work and Display
Audio 21 May – 13 November 2016
Display 21 May - 2 July 2016
Walk, sit, drift and meander from the Harris to the Cenotaph to experience this new sonic art work. Take part by collecting headphones from the Harris Library.
Homing is based on the original letters of Preston soldiers serving in the front line trenches of World War 1, from the archives of Lancashire Infantry Museum. Follow @homingpreston for daily quotes from the soldiers’ writings.
The letters demonstrate the attempts of soldiers and their loved ones to keep in touch despite the war. The distance was not only physical; the longer the war continued, the greater the distance in life experience between soldiers and those at home. Each letter represents an attempt to bridge that gap and, as much as is said, more is left unsaid or is unsayable.
Homing uses sound to make connections at a distance; between presence and absence, people and place, displacement and home.
The experience begins at at the Harris' Roll of Honour and moves out onto Preston's Flag Market and the Cenotaph.
Photographs, drawings and letters belonging to the soldiers can also be seen in the museum's first floor cabinets until 2 July.
