New Grooves Gallery - Online Community Wellbeing Project
New Grooves Gallery began in November 2020 during the second UK lockdown, in response to the mass interest in creative wellbeing during the pandemic. With my partner-in-Art Zoë Da Plain, we invited anyone from across the internet to share their creations, alongside their story/experience with Art, in an inclusive and welcoming space on our instagram @NewGroovesGallery.
The project was a huge success and since we have exhibited the work of around 90 individuals, all of which have shared their personal experiences with us over the last year. We have been so grateful for these interactions and have been blown away by the support of the platform and its contributors!
We have seen the work of outsider, emerging and established artists alike; some of who have been studying and finessing their work, others who are still experimenting, and many who are entirely new to this realm - who simply enjoy the act of creating!
In August 2021, we were offered the opportunity to exhibit the story and contributors of New Grooves Gallery at Blaze Image in Notting Hill, London. This was a hugely exciting event celebrating all our contributor’s work. We exhibited all 90 contributor's submissions, some of whom had never considered being shown in a gallery before. We wanted to showcase their creations in person, to commemorate their efforts and thank them for their honesty and openness throughout this time.
We held an online competition to vote for our audience's favourite 3 works, the winners were: Veronica Krause, Second place Falak Khoja and third place Mernpunk.
During the exhibition we raised £170 for CREATE Charity, to help young carers have access to arts wellness https://createarts.org.uk/new-grooves-gallery/
We also took part in the Traversing Borders online webinar, discussing accessibility and discourses in the art world with GateKeeper Magazine, Yami Ichi and Groocks Gallery, available to view on our IGTV here.
This project was created to celebrate inclusivity and freedom of expression, and we were so proud of the platform we created, people we met and everything we learnt along the way! Thanks to everyone to who contributed, and supported us! Images from the gallery, exhibition and webinar can be found below, and on our website here.
Exhibition in Notting Hill, 2021
Zoë and I in front of our competition winners' artworks, chosen by our community! They received an enlarged print of their submission and dedicated space in the gallery.
We invited all of our participants and visitors to the exhibition to donate to CREATE Charity, to continue their work in to further their fantastic work in providing arts resources for young carers across the UK.
They wrote an article about us! Viewable here.
Artists from left to right, Veronica Krause, Falak Khoja and Mernpunk.
Traversing Borders Webinar
@NewGroovesGallery