Co-

BACKLIT is delighted to present ‘Co-‘, an exhibition that intends to explore the idea of the value of collaboration, community and conversation.

Through a series of collaborative workshops, artist leads Kim Thompson, Neelum Aftab, and Janhavi Sharma have developed new works with groups of creative participants through various artistic processes. At the core of this programme, there is a fundamental idea of creating a shared space for people to come together and to pass around artistic skills. Through this, the artists invited in creatives at all skill levels to take part, making an accessible way into gallery spaces, and emphasising the value of collaboration, community and conversations.

Through Kim Thompson’s workshops, the group explore ideas of identity, expressive language, abstraction and playing with techniques like automatic drawing. The large-scale mural is a true collaboration of everyone’s creative ideas, whilst Thompson brings it all together through her artistic lens.

Through Neelum Aftab’s workshops, the group explore a response to music, developing new painting skills. In Aftab’s practice, she often uses music to create her artworks and has developed two new pieces for the exhibition in a direct reaction to the workshops.

Through Janhavi Sharma’s workshops, the group explore photographic processes, through tender polaroid emulsion lifts. Responding to Sharma’s ‘Third Spring’ in Nottingham, the participants went out into the city and explored the local landscape, taking images whilst considering ‘belonging’ and ‘looking’.

Featuring; Kim Thompson, Neelum Aftab, Janhavi Sharma, Musarrat Tariq, Nadia Javed, Suha Ali, Haris Ali, Mariam Jelani, Ferzana Shan, Yvonne Powles, Toby Curtis, Charli Thomas, Masah Azar, Lizzie Keen, Maria Malak, Klara Szafranska, Gabi Amaral, Mary Waldron, Katie Rayson, Nellie O’Rourke-Stopka

This exhibition and workshops are supported by Arts Council England.

Curated by Jazz Swali

Exhibition Opening: 21 July, 6 – 8 pm

Exhibition Dates:
22 July – 13 August 2023
Friday – Sunday, 12 -5 pm.

PROJECT GALLERY

BACKLIT
NG3 1JG, Alfred House
Nottingham, UK