ArtHouse Jersey has launched its major flagship project for 2021, Skipton Big Ideas.
This is a spectacular, immersive exhibition featuring over 20 art installations by over 40 local and international artists at St Helier Town Church. Designed to welcome our whole Island community, the exhibition promises to be an event that Jersey can be proud of.
The exhibition is taking place across three weeks between Thursday 14th October and Thursday 4th November 2021 at St Helier’s Town Church. The exhibition, which is largely free of charge for anyone to attend, will completely transform the church building with installations, artworks and lighting. The show marks the decade anniversary of ArtHouse Jersey partnering with Skipton International, a relationship that has delivered ten impactful community art projects over that time.
Alongside the exhibition there will be a number of world class evening performances, lunchtime lectures and inclusive weekend workshops, all speaking to three key themes.
Skipton Big Ideas aims to engage the whole community in a debate around how we might create a more inclusive and sustainable future for our Island home. The experience will be free of charge to everyone in Jersey, and although pre-booking is not essential people can reserve a guaranteed slot by booking in advance.
More about the special events and bookings can also be found here
Skipton BIg Ideas was officially opened on Wednesday 13th October by the Lieutenant Governor Sir Stephen Dalton and ArtHouse’s official patron Lady Dalton, alongside Deputy Kirsten Morel, the Minister responsible for arts and culture in the Island, The Dean of Jersey, The Very Reverend Mike Keirle, and the Director of ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle.
What are the big ideas?
Skipton Big Ideas explores three key issues affecting society today; sustainability, accessibility and identity. Over 30 artists are working on 20 large scale 3D installation art works that will encourage reflection and discourse.
- Sustainability We live in an age of environmental and social emergencies. We are constantly forced to re-examine what we value most and how we will sustain ourselves. How do we protect what we already have? How do we consume less? How might we repurpose things and what will it take to change our mindsets?
- Accessibility Are the arts accessible to all? Do some people feel excluded from the cultural narrative? If so, how might that sense of exclusion look and feel, and how might we better break down barriers in the arts?
- Identity Where do we get our sense of identity? Where is home? How important is cultural identity and how do we square this with an increasingly global community?
Who are the artists?
ArtHouse Jersey has have commissioned over 40 artists for Skipton Big Ideas, representing a major investment in the Island’s cultural sector. Among the commissioned artists are: Akhila Krishnan, Viv Le Vav, Casi, Pippa Nissen, Mari Keto, Nina Zaech, Margarida Lourenco, Francesca Monticelli, Ben Robertson, Tim Evans, Yulia Makeyva, Ian Rolls, Alison Horton, Tim Le Breuilly, Kerry Jane Warner, Poppy Whatmore, Gabriella Street, Snap Design, Oliver Le Gresley, Karen Le Roy Harris, Sarah Keirle,, Ben Davies, Qiao Cun, Maria Tarrant, Kyle Moody, Heather Barrett, William Howell Jackson, Bianca Padidar, Rebecca Voak, Anna Shipley, Henry Lambert, Jodie Carney, Antoaneta Tica, Hayley Wray, Essential Dance, Mike Robertson, Adam Flynn, Natasha Dettman.
Lorraine Mclean, Mortgage Sales Manager for Skipton International, said: “We’ve never been a firm that was interested in supporting a cause purely financially. If our name is associated with an event or project, it means we will be playing an active role in helping them achieve their objectives, realising that often the most valuable asset you can offer is time, people and resources.”
Jim Coupe, Managing Director of Skipton International, said: “Skipton International’s ethos of supporting the local communities in which it operates has served us well in this ten-year partnership to date. I am excited to see what the future holds for art in Jersey and how, with the help of ArtHouse Jersey, we can use it to shape our future and celebrate our island.”
Director of ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle, said: “This exhibition will be nothing short of ground-breaking for Jersey, something that will delight and inspire every corner of our community. The artists are creating installations that visitors will be able to touch and feel that will provoke conversations about the key issues Islanders face today. This is for everyone. It will be fun and welcoming with every aspect having been designed to be accessible. We look forward to welcoming Islanders to the St Helier Town Church in October.”
