Place, People & Living Memory – a public exhibition in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library exploring a new order of social justice carried forward from radical non resistance in the 19th Century by women of and from the North East of England, including Elizabeth Pease, Josephine Butler and Harriet Martineau, who were associated with Darlington, Northumberland and North Tyneside respectively. Each is known for advocacy, original thinking, activism and support for the cause of women’s political inclusion and emancipation. The work on show extends a time line into the 1930s, 1960s and 1990s when resistance and dissent to stark new forms of oppression give significance to the activist work of Frances Perkins (USA), Marta Kubišová (South Bohemia) and Jo Spence (UK).
Pease, Butler & Spence – Radical Non-Resistance & the Art of Transgression takes its lead from an artwork at the National Portrait Gallery, London, titled: ’The World Anti-Slavery Convention 1840’, made by the history painter and diarist Benjamin Robert Haydon. The inclusion of Elizabeth Pease in the delegates depicted warrants further consideration of her central role and advocacy for abolitionism. Born in 1807 into a Quaker family of wool merchants in Darlington, the entitlements and civic values of her time permeate the radical eloquence of her tireless campaigning for female emancipation and social justice. This exhibition unpicks a few threads from the storehouse of this history to trace the slow turn of change and reformation in human affairs then and since.
Place, People & Living Memory, includes: an extended photo-essay; current practice in painting; photography; AV film, sound work and participatory events with the intent to show rather than tell. The artefacts on show serve to explore the shifting status of civic pride in the township of Darlington; celebrate the legacy of locally driven radicalism for social reform; the close alliance of Pease family ancestry with activist figures operating regionally, nationally and internationally; the sense of belonging borne of working together to invigorate the commonality of social justice; and reveal the lived experience of collision between privilege, oppression and transformation
Artist practitioners presenting work in the show are: Dave Allinson (AV Film); Pip Dickens (Painting); Alec Gatenby (Print Media & AV film); Claire Grey (Photography); Bridie Jackson (Docusong); Karen Melvin (Photography); Pat Naldi (Essay text & Film); Alicia Paz (Painting, Photography & Print) ); Nicky Peacock (Sculpture); Jo Spence (Photography); Tereza Stehlikova (Film); and Ikuko Tsuchiya (Photography).
EVENTS PROGRAMME
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive events programme, details below, all events are aimed at adults, free of charge and are held in the Art Gallery at Darlington Library, open Monday – Saturday during standard Darlington Library opening hours.
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Phil Gatenby, Curator
Darlington Library, Gallery, Monday 5th February 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Phil Gatenby, Curator, will outline the story behind the show, why so? and other questions this might raise.
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Phil Gatenby, Curator
Darlington Library, Gallery, Thursday 15th February 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Phil Gatenby, Curator, will outline the story behind the show, why so? and other questions this might raise.
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Ikuko Tsuchiya, Exhibiting Artist
Darlington Library, Gallery, Tuesday 20th February 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Ikuko Tsuchiya will talk about her current photography work with the NHS & Health Care.
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Karen Melvin, Exhibiting Artist
Darlington Library, Gallery,Tuesday 27th February 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Karen will talk about her work as a fine art based photographer.
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Phil Gatenby, Curator
Darlington Library, Gallery, Tuesday 5th March 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Phil Gatenby will talk about the photographic work made by Jo Spence, the art of transgression and the impact of her work in her lifetime and its influence since.
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Learning Curator, Mima, Claire Pounder
Darlington Library, Gallery, Tuesday 12th March 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Claire Pounder, Learning Curator at Mima will talk about her approach to people powered stories, posing the question: who is Elizabeth Pease?
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Exhibiting Artist, Nicky Peacock
Darlington Library, Gallery, Tuesday 19th March 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Nicky Peacock will talk about art-making, isolation and bodily autonomy
Place, People & Living Memory Exhibition Tour & Talk – Phil Gatenby, Curator
Darlington Library, Gallery, Monday 25th March 2024, 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Phil Gatenby, Curator, will outline the story behind the show, why so? and other questions this might raise.
We hope you enjoy exploring the exhibition and events if you can make it to Darlington Library!
