The Waterhall, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

6 October 2016 – 6 January 2017

Monday – Thursday 10am – 5pm, Friday 10.30am – 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm

EAST MEETS WEST presents the work of 16 emerging artists working with moving image or photography.  This remarkable exhibition includes extraordinary works that represent the talent and ambition of artists in the Midlands today.

The artists responded to an open call to practitioners based within the Midlands, or those who have graduated from a Midlands-based University in the past three years.  The opportunity was devised in response to and was required to relate to the theme of ‘Leisure’ – a core theme explored in Doug Fishbone’s Leisure Land Golf exhibition at Quad, an installation exhibited during summer 2016.

The exhibition includes an ambitious, fascinating and diverse collection of interpretations, from projects delving into a broad range of ‘leisure’ activities and events including walking, swimming, collecting, drinking and travelling.  The exhibition is a remarkable commentary on what people do today in their leisure time with projects shown including drinking culture, documenting community-led action to save local swimming baths, a sensitive portrait of a young Shetland Island resident’s use of his leisure time and an obsessive collector.

The selection process was conducted by a panel of arts experts after which the works were exhibited at QUAD, Derby and Waterhall, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

The exhibiting artists are;  Jim Brouwer & Simon Raven, Jakki Carey, Theo Ellison, Attilio Fiumarella, Emma Georgiou, Anne Giddings, Daniel Hayes, Geoff Hodgson, Amy Huggett, Holger Martin, Tracey McMaster, George Miles, Marta Soul, Clive Wheeler and Dan Wheeler.

The project is a partnership with Format International Photography Festival, Quad, Derby and GRAIN Projects, supported by Arts Council England and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

Image Credit;  Marta Soul  ’Armonía’