New Faces, New Focus: Stories We Share

Communities share stories of journeys, home and identity in major new touring exhibition. About New Faces, New Focus: Stories We Share is a collaborative touring exhibition bringing together new creative work by artists and community participants alongside objects and artworks from three museums collections across the UK. Created by Open Eye Gallery in partnership with Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council and Aberdeenshire Council’s Museums Service, the exhibition is part of Art Fund’s Going Places programme – a series of 12 exhibitions touring the UK, created by museums working together to share and celebrate their collections in collaboration with local communities. Developed through residencies in Liverpool City Region, Armagh and Aberdeenshire, the exhibition explores the theme of journeys, identity and home through the voices of local communities whose stories have not always been represented in museum collections – including those with lived experience of migration and displacement. In Liverpool City Region, three socially engaged photographers have worked with communities to create new work inspired by local collections and participants’ own experiences; Anoosh Ariamehr worked with communities in Knowsley, Nina Karetska with displaced Ukrainian community in Sefton, and Abdullrhman Hassona with communities in St Helen's supported by Cafe Laziz. Their projects have been developed in partnership with Kirkby Gallery (Knowsley), The Atkinson (Sefton), and The World of Glass (St Helen’s), where the work will also be exhibited. In Armagh, artists Rosalind Lowery and Catherine Willis, alongside mentee artists Maria McStay and Fionnula O’Gorman, worked with Polish, Ukrainian, Syrian, and Lithuanian communities. Together with Museums’ Curator Sean Barden, they explored the collection and selected objects to co-create artistic responses that reflect participants’ life journeys. Everyday objects have been interpreted in fresh and thoughtful ways, revealing new meanings through the eyes of the participants. In Aberdeenshire, socially engaged photographer Nicole Gildea has engaged newly formed Aberdeenshire communities with heritage collections and photography. With additional support from mentee photographer Max Creamer, residents across the shire have co-created a body of new photographic work inspired by the diverse historic collections managed by Aberdeenshire Council's Museums Service. Across all three locations, participants have worked alongside artists, curators and museum teams to explore the theme of journeys – from migration and exile to the milestones, traditions and celebrations that shape our lives – creating new work inspired by museum collections and their own experiences of place, identity and home. Going Places is an Art Fund programme made possible with major support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Julia Rausing Trust, with additional support from a generous group of trusts, foundations and individuals. Art Fund is continuing to fundraise to reach the full potential of the programme and make the biggest impact for museums and visitors across the UK. Read more Toggle Photography Mixed media