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Cultures Collide

2019/20

Project Partner: Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust

Artform: Visual Art

People involved: Prism Arts Studio Arts

Three of our Studio Arts members, John, Jonathan and Harvey, worked with Claire Sleightholm, Project Curator at Tullie House, to curate their own exhibition in the George Howard Gallery in Old Tullie House. The exhibition, Culture Collide, was a year-long display which gave visitors a chance to explore an entirely new approach to Tullie House’s fine and decorative art collections.

Some of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings normally on show in the gallery were on tour in Japan, leading the team to explore the similarities between the cultures of Japan and the UK. By exploring the museum’s collections, the artists discovered a host of connections between Carlisle and Japan. They curated a selection of objects with local resonance as well as objects from Japan to explore important themes that connected the two cultures; Creature Comforts, Vibrant Industry and Natural Beauty.

Work on display includes objects from Japan alongside work by Thomas Bushby, Sheila Fell, Utagawa Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai, and Percy Kelly.

Cultures Collide: The Journey Continues

The artists were so inspired by their experience working with the museum collections that they wanted to continue the work they’d started, creating their own work in response to the exhibition they’d curated.

This work went on display in Tullie House’s Community Gallery.