The Grundy Art Gallery has unveiled an exciting calendar of events for the start of 2018. Featuring a packed programme of exhibitions, artists’ film and video, and the return of a popular light-based artwork, the Grundy promises a diverse and dynamic start to the year.
Here’s an insight into what’s on offer from Saturday 20 January until Saturday 3 March at the Grundy.

Open 2018

Demonstrating the wealth and breadth of artistic production on the Fylde Coast, Grundy’s 2018 Open exhibition returns with more than 100 artworks submitted through this year’s open call. With no selection process and installed in the gallery in the date order in which the applications were received, the display has been guided by an inclusive approach, providing artists with an opportunity to celebrate creativity side by side, mirroring the aims of the project.

Blackpool Schools Exhibition

Illustrating the Grundy’s ongoing commitment to encouraging and celebrating early year’s creativity, the 2018 Blackpool Schools Exhibition is a display of more than 200 artworks by schoolchildren who visited the gallery to see the previous show, Paper, Canvas, Neon. Inspired by the paintings and drawings in the gallery collection, from Pablo Picasso to Eric Ravilious, pupils were given an opportunity to work with Blackpool-based artist Tina Dempsey to create works for exhibition.

Film Club

During February and March, the Grundy, in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, will present a programme of artists’ film and video. The programme will see six successive weekly presentations of films by artists Rachel Maclean, Lawrence Lek, Corin Sworn and Tony Romano, Neil Beloufa, Mathieu K. Abonnenc and films taken from the ICA’s 2016 Artists’ Film Biennial. This exploration of artists’ film will be complemented by a programme of Saturday afternoon talks led by artist Chris Paul Daniels.

Portfolio 1: Prints from the Grundy Collection

As part of the gallery’s commitment to showcasing works from the Grundy’s collection, this selection features print based works produced during the 1970’s and 80’s. This selection provides an insight into some of the Grundy’s acquisition interests during this time.

Adrian Pritchard: Terraforma

Brought together for the first time as a single body of work, Terraforma is a solo exhibition by Blackpool-based artist Adrian Pritchard. It explores the artist’s ongoing interests in physics and space exploration. The exhibition is presented in the Grundy’s Rotunda gallery, where the domed ceiling adds a thematically relevant, ‘observatory-like’ atmosphere to the space.

Under the Thumb

The Grundy welcomes back Under the Thumb (2017) by Emma Hart and Jonathan Baldock. This work, made by the Blackpool Illuminations team, was commissioned in 2017 and is now on long-term loan from the artists. Temporarily exhibited in the Grundy’s entrance space, the piece will take its place alongside two other light-based works, Martin Creed’s, Work 231: Things (2000)and Noel Clueit’s Um (2016), which form part of the permanent collection. Along with the Grundy’s recent acquisition of neon works by internationally recognised artists Tracey Emin and Joseph Kosuth, the presentation of Under the Thumb (2017) demonstrates the Grundy’s ongoing commitment to building and exhibiting a world-class collection of light-based art works.

Cllr Luke Taylor, Lead Member for Arts on Blackpool Council, said: “I am delighted to announce a series of new exhibitions at the Grundy Art Gallery.

“Taking place across all of the galleries, these exhibitions provide a celebration of artistic talent from across the Fylde and will provide an energetic and uplifting start to the Grundy’s 2018 programme.

“We hope that you will join us in celebrating the start of our 2018 exhibition programme at the Grundy Art Gallery.”