Your lockdown artworks are wanted for an exhibition

If there's been one thing about lockdown that has set it apart from normal times in a good way, it's the impetus it has provided for people to connect with the arts.

Long periods at home, especially over the winter, have given residents plenty of time to rediscover all kinds of activities or try them out for the first time. Tameside Cultural Services now want to explore that pandemic-inspired creativity as part of an open exhibition called apART.

It could be the result of a new skill you’ve learned, some photos you’ve taken, an artwork you’ve created or a poem you’ve written. Whatever it is you’ve created to help you cope with lockdown, they would love to see it, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a complete beginner. All work is welcome.

apART will launch as an online exhibition on Wednesday, March 24, which will mark a full year since the first lockdown began.

When the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery in Stalybridge is able to reopen, contributors will have the chance to exhibit their work there.

Cllr Leanne Feeley, Tameside Council’s executive member with responsibility for culture, said: “I’ve always believed in the power of the arts to move, inspire and even heal us. That could be as the result of seeing a masterpiece, but even more it can come from something we have done ourselves. Creativity has been a vital lifeline for many of Tameside’s residents over the last 12 months and I would love them to share what they’ve made. I’m sure apART will provide a unique and moving picture of the ways we’ve faced up to the challenges posed by the pandemic.”

For more information about the exhibition, visit www.tameside.gov.uk/apart/submissions. 

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