Evolving art exhibition celebrates community work from around Brighton

Running until 3 October, the Community Takeover showcases artwork produced by residents from East Brighton, Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Hangleton and Knoll as part of the Our Place project, a ground-breaking community initiative created in partnership with Brighton Festival.

Visitors to the main gallery space will also be invited to contribute their own artwork to create an evolving exhibition around the theme 'stories'. People can engage through activities such as window drawings, adding to a forest of books, and creating fabric decorations – with inspiration provided by artist-led workshops throughout the exhibition run.

Filming 2 Metre Conversations in the park

Among the exhibits will be 2 Metre Conversations, a series of short films made under the auspices of the Centre for Arts and Wellbeing. Shot during the initial 2020 lockdown, it features conversations with local people from a wide range of backgrounds to show the diversity of experience during the pandemic. Watch a selection of the conversations on the Phoenix YouTube channel.

From 22 September – 3 October, a complementary exhibition Acts of Transfer will take place in the gallery's Green Room. Dr Katy Beinart from the Centre for Arts and Wellbeing has collaborated with Dr Lizzie Lloyd from the University of the West of England (UWE) to explore past socially-engaged art projects using image and text. This exhibition is also supported by the University of Brighton's Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics, plus Arts Council England.

Dr Helen Johnson, Principal Lecturer in psychology in the Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, said: "The centre is proud to be supporting this exciting and important exhibition, which celebrates local community projects, narratives and socially-engaged art."

Chloe Hoare, Community and Learning Programme Manager at Phoenix, says: “Providing access to the arts is at the heart of our community engagement programme. We want everyone to feel able to participate in creative opportunities at Phoenix Art Space and we enjoy working closely with the Phoenix Community Association to ensure that our neighbours feel welcome here. Since the pandemic we have taken our work to people’s doorsteps in the form of free art packs and online courses, encouraging our local community to take part in something creative.”

Phoenix Art Space was established as a charity in 1995 in central Brighton to provide a range of creative opportunities including: 100 affordable artists’ studios, two public galleries, plus around 15 free exhibitions per year.