‘Multiplicity’, a show organised and curated by Alice Nant and Ben Bailey-Davies, 29.03.2019 – 12.04.2019.

This is the GateHouse Gallery. It is a small three roomed space that was turned from a school tuck shop into a gallery five years ago. It normally shows work from local artists and raises money for the private school it is attached to. This is the first time the Further Education College I work at has had the opportunity to hold an exhibition here. The exhibition was designed to show development work of the students of courses from Level 1 to Level 5, without hierarchy, and promote the work we do at the College. In June the Course holds a end of year show for the Level 3 graduating students, since being in the art department (I joined in 2015) I have organised four shows outside the normal end of year event in order to showcase work from different student levels and celebrate all student achievement.

We chose a variety of student work from all levels including all types of art & design production including drawing, printmaking, textiles, video, animation, photography, graphic design, illustration, sculpture, prop making and sketchbook work.

As it is a small gallery we tried to put in a wide variety of work trying to avoid making the space feel overcrowded.

To order the space whilst maintaining a sense of space we hung the work in groups of grids and also tried to to visually join rooms as with the computers on plinths (above), and using images of faces (below). A continuity device to draw viewers through the separate spaces of the gallery.

We also employed window sills for small objects and used the natural light to highlight more delicate items.

There were a few interesting problems to solve. Including finding the best ways to display sketchbooks, a paper dress and a dress as a canvas for a video installation.

The projector for the dress video installation was put on a plinth in the centre of one of the rooms. Initially we thought this might be a problem, with technology blocking access to the work. But because the photography portraits at the back were visible through both the other rooms, the work drew the viewer’s gaze in and above the projector. Being bold with the projector placement worked successfully.

This awkward corner with a fire alarm and light switch was complemented by a block print of a switch plate.

There was an opening evening with a good turnout, media coverage with good reviews and the show was up for two weeks. The success can be measured with College management agreeing to this showcase becoming an annual event.