8 June - 23 November 2024
Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Lenton Road, Nottingham, NG1 6EL
Launch date: Saturday 8 June 2024, 5–7pm / ALL WELCOME / Please book your place here
Relaxed launch: Saturday 8 June 2024, 4–5pm - please email nottingham.castle@nottinghamcity.gov.uk to book a place
Exhibition dates: 8 June – 3 November 2024
Opening times: 10am – 5pm daily
Exhibiting artists: Siddharth Gadiyar, James Gladwell, Thompson Hall, Richard Hunt, Nnena Kalu, Cameron Morgan, Michelle Roberts, and Leslie Thompson.
Kaleidoscopic Realms presents an installation of artworks by eight contemporary artists revealing a colourful insight into intuitive mark-marking in its many forms, alongside films made about the artists and their practice. The featured artists have all travelled different paths to firmly ground themselves within their art practice, each with a distinctive style.
Unfettered explorations of repetition, pattern, detail, and culture weave their way into the artwork. A clear sense of storytelling and play often features, whilst others just ooze the pure joy of mark-making and material investigations. Ceramics, embroidery, pen drawings, and large-scale painted canvases invite closer viewing, whilst an impressive installation of bold, wrapped sculptures entices you with its strong presence.
Siddharth Gadiyar and Nnena Kalu's large scale, visually impactful artworks are a riot of colour, both producing art that is big, bold and eye-catching. Likewise, Cameron Morgan and Richard Hunt have an inclination towards colour however, their work is thematic - both weave stories, from observation and memory of the things they cherish, onto canvas; with Morgan utilising ceramics and embroidery to further extend his work. Thompson Hall's work, whilst being both thematic and colourful, is more politically driven. Hall wants the observer to understand the hardships people endure and the anxiety this often brings. In contrast to these are the works by James Gladwell, Michelle Roberts and Leslie Thompson where the emphasis is on detail. Gladwell's delicate embroideries drawn from his imagination and memories are simple yet beautiful; Thompson's characters in their myriad of forms are presented, from memory, with perfect pose and structure; Roberts' signature characters drawn from visits both experienced and observed, joyfully dance across her large-scale canvases.
[Installation photographs here by John Hartley]
Co-curated by Jennifer Gilbert of Jennifer Lauren Gallery and artist Christopher Samuel, the exhibition runs alongside a programme of workshops, talks and live events exploring who gets to be an artist, and who gets to be seen in galleries and why? Kaleidoscopic Realms is designed to challenge preconceived ideas, and to stimulate conversation and interaction. This exhibition not only allows the observer to appreciate the artwork but also presents a series of films revealing the artists in action, divulging more about their processes and motives.
This exhibition was born out of project SHIFT, from Jennifer Lauren Gallery, which exists to give recognition and to amplify the visibility, voices and works of UK-based neurodivergent and learning disabled visual artists within contemporary art. SHIFT creates space for inclusion, and for conversations between artists and gatekeepers, to deepen understanding, to commit to change, and to champion acceptance without prejudice. The Jennifer Lauren Gallery champions these artists, raising their profile helping to gain respect, and providing a platform to showcase their work.
Each of these artists work out of studios across the UK who tirelessly support not only these artists, but many other incredibly talented artists: ActionSpace, Barrington Farm, Project Ability, Project Art Works, Shadowlight Artists, and Venture Arts.
Access: Please visit the museum website for access information.
This is a paid entry exhibition – please contact Jennifer via email if this is going to be a barrier for you: info@jenniferlaurengallery.com
Watch exhibition curators Jennifer Gilbert and Christopher Samuel discuss the importance of disability representation in museums and galleries in the below left video, and click the transcript icon to read a text version of the conversation. On the below right is the walkthrough of the exhibition (transcript to follow for this one).
JAMES GLADWELL
James Gladwell (b.1952) was born into a Romany gypsy community and was taught needlework by his grandmother at a young age. He has been a member of the Barrington Farm supported studio in Norfolk since 1989 where he developed his passion for drawing and embroidery. He spends hours stitching intricate designs onto found material and says it satisfies his need to create. James had a solo show at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester (2016) and his work won an award at the Norwich Castle Open Art Show (2018). He has works in various private and public collections including the Norfolk Museums Costume and Textile Collection.
Garden With Owls, 2020
Embroidery on calico, 50 x 83cm
Courtesy the artist and Barrington Farm
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
Siddharth Gadiyar (b.1998) is an extraordinary and prolific image-maker, who constructs a new work of considerable scale, each week in a three-hour supported studio session at Project Art Works, Hastings. His art is big and bold, an unfettered exploration of pattern and colour, that returns time and again to his signature motif, the circle. Siddharth had a solo show at Phoenix Art Centre in Brighton (2019) and has featured in group exhibitions at documenta fifteen (2022) and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle (2023).
Untitled, 2018
Acrylic on paper, 280 x 240cm
Courtesy of Project Art Works
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
THOMPSON HALL
Thompson Hall (b. 1975) joined ActionSpace in 1997. His work is primarily large-scale acrylic paintings and preparatory pencil drawings, using recognisable symbols to give accessible visual references to the subjects chosen. His recent art is inspired by the inequalities of society, what is happening in the world in regard to politics and marginalisation, and how these things affect him and his life. Thompson had a three-month residency at Autograph in London (2022) and took part in a collaborative project with the Royal Society of Sculptors in London (2023). A monograph about his practice is due out in 2024.
Living on a Breadline, 2019
Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70cm
Courtesy of the artist and ActionSpace
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
Richard Hunt (b. 1972) is based in Oxford and, since winning the Shape Open in 2017, has expanded his practice from just painting to embrace elements of sculpture and textured surfaces. Since 2016 he has worked in collaboration with Oxford-based artist Sonia Boué, and this partnership has helped Richard to develop his technique. Richard is a member of the Shadowlight Artists Group, which the arts charity Film Oxford supports. He has been in many Oxfordshire-based group exhibitions, most recently at The Old Fire Station (2023).
Sea World of the Horse, 2023
Acrylic paint and sharpies on canvas, 60 x 50cm
Courtesy of the artist and Shadowlight Artists
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
NNENA KALU
Nnena Kalu (b. 1966) is a prolific artist working from ActionSpace’s supported studio in Studio Voltaire since 1999. Process, repetition and material are pivotal to Nnena’s practice. The energy and passion Nnena emits through making, her methodology and the complex and ambitious work she creates are fascinating. She creates intense sculptural works and 2D paper-based works built from layers of repetitive circular forms. To-date she has had four solo shows, most recently with Arcadia Missa, London (2024), and has appeared in group exhibitions at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes (2023) and Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate (2022). In 2023 drawings were acquired by the TATE and Arts Council Collection.
Drawing 72, 2023
Mixed media on paper, 90 x 170cm each
Courtesy the artist and ActionSpace
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
CAMERON MORGAN
Cameron Morgan (b.1965) is a multi-talented and prolific artist working with Project Ability in Glasgow since 1991. In 2016 he was awarded a lifetime fellowship to the RSA. Recently he has been fulfilling a research and development grant from Creative Scotland, working in collaborative residency projects with other professional artists. Cameron has had several solo shows at Project Ability, most recently in 2020, works regularly alongside printmaker Charlie Hammond, and was selected for an Unlimited Commission and subsequent exhibition at the Southbank Centre in London. He has also exhibited extensively around the UK and beyond.
Happy Go Lucky, 2024
Ceramic
Courtesy of the artist and Project Ability
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
Michelle Roberts (b. 1970) creates paintings at Project Art Works in Hastings, that are ambitious in scale, conception, and realisation. The subjects relate to lived experiences or special events she is aware of or has witnessed. Her paintings are carefully detailed, finely subdividing characters and forms into patterns and displays using paint or brush-pens. Michelle had a solo show at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester (2014) and was part of group exhibitions for the Turner Prize (2021) and documenta fifteen (2022). She is having a solo show at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, opening in September 2024.
Untitled (January 2022), 2022
Brush pen on paper, A5 concertina
Courtesy of the artist and Project Art Works
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
Leslie Thompson (b. 1970) has been a studio artist at Venture Arts in Manchester for over 20 years. His drawings depict scenes from television and film from 1970–1990 and include fascinating written anecdotes from film, music, and TV. All born from his memory and imagination, they are highly detailed, varying massively in scale from tiny badge drawings to 5m long scrolls. Leslie had a solo show at Project Ability in Glasgow (2017), two solo shows in Manchester (2022), and group exhibitions at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester (2020) and TJ Boulting in London (2023). In 2023 he was selected as one of nine artists commissioned by the Government Art Collection to create new artwork about the Coronation.
The A-Team (part of the Many of the TV Screens Everywhere series), 2023
Ink pen and pencil crayon, 42 x 30cm
Courtesy the artist and Venture Arts
There is an audio description by Harry Baxter of this work. Click the buttons below to listen to the audio description or to read the transcript.
EVENTS
Associated events: Talks and tours in-person and online
/ Curators tour with Jennifer and Christopher – Sunday 21 July, 1–2pm BOOK
Join Jennifer Gilbert of Jennifer Lauren Gallery and disabled artist Christopher Samuel for a tour of ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’. As co-curators, they travelled around the country selecting the artworks alongside the artists, where possible. They will share a little about each artist, and some facts about the artwork on show. There will be time for questions throughout too.
These sessions are free, but booking is advised. You are welcome to stay around in the café at the end of the session, for further chatting. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself.
/ BSL (British Sign Language) tour with Chisato Minamimura – Saturday 3 August, 1–2pm BOOK
Led by deaf performance artist Chisato Minamimura, this exhibition tour of ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’ will be carried out in British Sign Language (BSL) only. The session will focus on one work by each of the artists in the exhibition. Using her skills and experience working in the art sector as well as art history knowledge, Chisato helps audiences gain insight into an exhibition. She works with major museums and galleries including the National Gallery, the TATE, the Whitechapel Gallery and the RWA in Bristol.
These sessions are free, but booking is advised. You are welcome to stay around in the café at the end of the session, for further chatting. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself.
/ Online curators discussion with Jennifer and Christopher - Tuesday 10 September, 6–7pm / BOOK
Unable to get to Nottingham in-person, join Jennifer Gilbert of Jennifer Lauren Gallery and disabled artist Christopher Samuel for a free online tour/discussion of ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’ that is currently at Nottingham Castle. As co-curators, they travelled around the country selecting the artworks alongside the artists, where possible. They will share a little about each artist, and some facts about the artwork on show. There will be time for questions throughout too.
Closed captions through Zoom will be used. Should you have any further access requirements, please email Jennifer: info@jenniferlaurengallery.com
/ Audio description tour with Harry Baxter – Saturday 14 September, 2–3pm BOOK
Join a live audio description tour of the ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’ exhibition with Harry Baxter. This tour is specifically for blind and visually impaired, as well as partially sighted audiences. Harry will be wearing a mic so that people will be able to clearly hear him. Harry is a fully qualified audio describer who trained in audio description at the Royal Academy of Arts and has described every major exhibition there since 2010. He had also performed audio descriptions for the British Museum, TATE Gallery and Kings College London.
These sessions are free, but booking is advised. You are welcome to stay around in the café at the end of the session, for further chatting. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself.
/ Curators tour with Jennifer and Christopher – Saturday 28 September, 1–2pm BOOK
Join Jennifer Gilbert of Jennifer Lauren Gallery and disabled artist Christopher Samuel for a tour of ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’. As co-curators, they travelled around the country selecting the artworks alongside the artists, where possible. They will share a little about each artist, and some facts about the artwork on show. There will be time for questions throughout too.
These sessions are free, but booking is advised. You are welcome to stay around in the café at the end of the session, for further chatting. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself.
Associated events: Workshops and live events
/ Embroidery drop-in workshop with James Gladwell – Sunday 9 June, 10:30am–12pm
Join exhibiting artist James Gladwell for a FREE drop-in workshop as part of ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’. James will demonstrate stitch techniques and help you to create a textile artwork inspired by his favourite themes of gardens, flowers, and snakes. Join James to create your own take-home miniature embroidery using cross stitch. All threads, materials and guidance are provided, and no experience is necessary. All ages and abilities welcome.
This session is FREE to drop in. No booking required. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself.
/ Live drawing from Leslie Thompson (11am–4pm) and Richard Hunt (1–4pm) – Friday 2 August
Join exhibiting artists Leslie Thompson from Venture Arts and Richard Hunt from Shadowlight Artists as they live draw in the Gallery spaces. Leslie will continue to work on his long scroll titled The Animals of London Zoo, where he draws from his memory animals, he saw on his trip to London Zoo last year. Richard will be working on a new work in the space, again drawn from his memories and things he likes. Come along, watch them work, and ask them questions if you like.
Feel free to grab a pencil and paper in the spaces and draw your own animals from memory too.
/ Family friendly workshop with Project Art Works – Tuesday 20 August, 1:30–3pm / BOOK
Join us for a free creative workshop inspired by the vibrant work of Michelle Roberts whose work features in Kaleidoscopic Realms. Michelle’s work depicts many themes from places and events to musicals. She interprets these themes in her own distinctive style. During the family friendly workshop you will have the opportunity to make your own illustrative panel, that we can connect with others to make a large collaborative concertina book, or you can make a mini book to take home. We will provide you with all the materials, and some themes for inspiration, to create your own artwork full of wonderful colours and playful patterns. Patricia Finnegan, the artist who supports Michelle at Project Art Works, will lead the workshop, and share an insight into Michelle’s practice.
All ages and abilities welcome, and suitable for families to take part.
This session is FREE, but please book your space. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself. If this is going to be a barrier, please email info@jenniferlaurengallery.com as Jennifer is happy to discuss this with you.
/ Family friendly creative workshop with Thompson Hall – Saturday 14 September, 11am–1pm / BOOK
Thompson’s free family friendly workshop will focus on participants creating their own stories or quotes based on 'what is on their mind' and their response to things there are thinking about at the moment that are important to them. This could be as simple as thinking about what to eat that day or where to travel to next, or getting more complex as to what they'd like to see happen in the world to make it a better place, or something they are looking forward to.
Participants will be invited to share their opinions through simple words, symbols or drawings on things that are important to them and their experiences. Participants will work onto speech bubbles designed by Thompson, which will then be added onto a large panel that will be hanging in the workshop space, with a Thompson painting already in the centre. The speech bubbles can be taken away afterwards.
Thompson Hall’s work is a response to living in society today. Thompson engages a lot with the world around him, and much of this is through attending events and looking at what is in the news. All ages and abilities welcome. Thompson will begin by sharing his own practice and talking through his work.
This session is FREE, but please book your space. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself. If this is going to be a barrier, please email info@jenniferlaurengallery.com as Jennifer is happy to discuss this with you.
/ Portrait sittings with Cameron Morgan – Sunday 29 September, 10:30am–4pm
Cameron Morgan's live portraits are truly original works of art. Created in watercolour, ink and sometimes a bit of Posca Pen, his unique style of mark making captures the essence of the subject while bringing in as much colour and movement as he can fit on the page. To sit for Cameron Morgan while he paints your portrait is an experience not to be missed. With each portrait taking 10-20 minutes, you will not be disappointed with the FREE artwork you get to take home! Wild and wonderful portraits that will show the sitter a new side to themselves. No booking required. Admission fees apply to get into the Castle itself.
Associated events: Relaxed sensory sessions
/ Relaxed session led by The Sensory Toolkit – Sunday 21 July, 10-11:30am BOOK
/ Relaxed session led by The Sensory Toolkit – Tuesday 20 August, 10-11:30am BOOK
/ Relaxed session led by The Sensory Toolkit – Saturday 28 September, 10-11:30am BOOK
For individuals with additional needs and their families, artist Sarah Marsh [@thesensorytoolkit] leads the session with her gorgeous tactile, sculptural objects that you can wrap yourself in and explore the exhibition, while making connections to the artwork on display. Alongside making sensory dumplings that you can take home with you, it's a more quiet, less crowded relaxed morning exploring art. Sarah has a wealth of experience working with children with additional needs, and all supporting volunteers will have been briefed beforehand about the sessions. We will lower the lighting levels throughout ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’. It will be a closed safe space, but the rest of the Castle will be open to the general public during this time. We felt it was important for you to be aware of this.
You can drop-in anytime between 10-11:30am and it's FREE, but please book a space so we can monitor numbers. Admission fees apply to get in to the Castle itself.
PRESS
Related news, press and interviews
/ Mark Sheerin for Disability Arts Online
“While the impulse to create remains obscure, in Nottingham I came away with a much clearer idea of the artistry of those exhibiting and the challenges they have faced. Nine looped accompanying films featured all eight artists, with input from interlocutors, collaborators, curators and studio managers. The work was accompanied by audio commentary, large print notes, and infographic interpretation, the latter on eight easy-to-wield detachable boards. Angling the monitors and the seats they also made space for wheelchair-users. In this way, the exhibition is super accessible. Yet the motives, the impulse, the creative spark on show remains, for the most part, inscrutable. This is a tension which makes Kaleidoscopic Realms hard to resist.”
/Michael Orr for Corridor8
“The curators have definitely delivered in terms of viewer accessibility. For example, all videos include a British Sign Language interpreter, and there are braille descriptions, audio recordings, and tactile experiences available, so that every viewer can access something from each artist. I do believe this standard should be the minimum benchmark for art to become all inclusive. Every visitor has the opportunity to engage each artist in a variety of ways.”
/ Jennifer Gilbert for Art UK
“This exhibition had access, empowerment – as well as acceptance without prejudice – built in from the outset. Where possible, artists (or their family members/studio facilitators) were involved in their artwork selection, in choosing wall colours, in deciding what event they would like to run in the space. For learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists, this is a rarity. But for myself and co-curator Christopher, this was non-negotiable and of the utmost importance, alongside the language used and the accessibility of this language – Braille, BSL and Easy Read.”
/ Mike Pinnington for Double Negative
"The artists’ practices are united by different curatorial threads; an interest in colour, mark-making and creative exploration on the one hand while, on the other, theirs also happens to be a group made up of neurodivergent and learning disabled contemporary artists. While the latter point is, of course, of import in amplifying voices and profiles, the work on display – allowed centre-stage by the subtle yet meaningful curatorial intent (more of which later) – really sings here. All of which is to say that Kaleidoscopic Realms’ curatorial team of Jennifer Gilbert (founder of Jennifer Lauren Gallery) and Christopher Samuel, an artist whose practice is concerned with identity and disability politics, should be commended – both for bringing these eight artists’ varied outputs to a wider audience, but also the sensible, thoughtful ways in which this has been achieved.”
/ Gill Crawshaw for Disability Arts Online (about access specifically)
Curator Gill Crawshaw, who draws on her experience of disability activism, recently visited the show, calling the access provision ‘exemplary.’ Gill says, “I was bowled away by the exhibition and how it was presented. I’ll focus on some of the innovative, thoughtful and definitely aesthetically pleasing features of the exhibition which make it accessible and engaging for visitors, whether disabled, neurodivergent – or not.”
Kaleidoscopic Realms was featured on Notts TV on 22 August 2024. Co-curator Jennifer talked about the importance of representation and accessibility, and Lisha Rooney spoke as a parent about the importance of relaxed sessions for her son and people with additional needs.