Skipton Big Ideas: Where waste meets design – Interactive exhibition

ArtHouse Jersey is delighted to announce Skipton Big Ideas: Where Waste Meets Design, an innovative and design-led interactive exhibition that will explore the hidden potential in materials generally consigned to ‘waste’.

An evolution of last year’s ground-breaking Skipton Big Ideas exhibition, this will take place in our brand new exhibition space at Capital House in St. Helier for seven weeks, from Saturday 11th June to Sunday 31 July (closed on Mondays).

Like most ArtHouse Jersey projects, Skipton Big Ideas: Where Waste Meets Design is no ordinary exhibition. Fourteen artists and designers have been invited to the exhibition space at Capital House to work live on site in public view. They will be transforming waste materials and broken things into new objects, works of art and experiences across a five week period.

Spanning a wide range of skills and activities including; printmaking, papermaking, carpentry, quilting, sewing, weaving, music making, casting, dyeing, mending, spinning, repairing and tailoring, the makers will be sharing their processes and responses to waste through praxis, talks, workshops and demonstrations. The public will be able to enter at any point and see the creatives at work and the space steadily transformed into an exhibition. The final two weeks will be a more formal showcase of all of the work that has been made.

Islanders invited to take part in making the exhibition

In addition to the creatives making objects from the rubbish, there will be countless opportunities to engage the public from the initial collection of the rubbish, through to making workshops, bring and repair sessions, talks and performances. Island schools will be engaged as well as target groups within the community, working through many of our charitable partners.

There is much to celebrate in Jersey’s approach to recycling and reuse of materials. Islanders have a long tradition of making the most of materials that aren’t in abundance locally but need to be imported from elsewhere. Globally we have lost connection with how things are made and the provenance of the majority of products that make our lives easier or more convenient. Skipton Big Ideas – Where Waste Meets Design will feature artists and designers who are shining a light on this issue through their work and seeing value in materials that are discarded, overlooked and thrown away on a daily basis.

Director of ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing Skipton Big Ideas back to the heart of St Helier in our new space. This exhibition will address a topic that affects every single person and will do so in a highly visual and creative way.

“Designed to have a broad appeal across our community, the exhibition will avoid the negativity so commonly associated with this subject, and will develop its positive message over the course of a number of weeks. Overall, we hope to explore the role that art, design and creativity can have in finding solutions and developing better consumer options for our future.

“We encourage people to keep an eye on our online channels and the local press to learn more about the designers and artists involved and to find out about opportunities to take part.”

Director of Skipton International Jim Coupe said “I am proud of our long-standing association with ArtHouse Jersey and the Skipton Big Ideas initiatives, and this year’s exhibition looks to be remarkable. We are committed to positive change and being a force for good in both the way we conduct business, and by setting an example. The theme this year will help highlight the need for us all to reuse, recycle, and do more for the good of our planet.”

The main image is by visual artist Dorota Buczkowska.