Our Marian
Our Marian brings together newly commissioned artworks and community responses that consider the figure of Maid Marian through a contemporary lens.
Developed alongside the creation of Alicja Biała's new public sculpture for Maid Marian Way in Nottingham, the exhibition explores how folklore can be reimagined and carried into the present. Rather than approaching Maid Marian as a fixed historical figure, Our Marian understands her as a site of possibility: a character continually shaped through storytelling and collective memory.
At the centre of the exhibition are two bronze sculptures by Alicja Biała from the Hyperaccumulator series. Created through Biała's ongoing exploration of ecology, foraging and botanical forms, these works share a material and conceptual relationship with her newly commissioned public sculpture for Maid Marian Way. Together, they foreground bronze not simply as a historic medium, but as a material through which environmental and cultural narratives are preserved, transformed and reimagined.
Presented alongside Biała's work are three newly commissioned artworks by BACKLIT's feminist collective, Lumina. Bringing together Rocky Mol, Lucy Nelson, and Wingshan whose practices engage with mythology, language, craft, embodiment and care, these new commissions draw connections between medieval histories and contemporary experience, considering how inherited narratives might be questioned, expanded and preserved.
The exhibition also presents Dominique Golden's Julian of Norwich, an experimental clay stop-motion animation that explores the writings and visions of the medieval mystic. Revisiting themes of feminine spirituality, devotion and transformation, the work offers an important historical dialogue between Julian of Norwich and the evolving mythology of Maid Marian, tracing the enduring influence of medieval women on contemporary feminist thought.
The exhibition is accompanied by outcomes from a series of public workshops exploring medieval making traditions. Through collective processes and shared knowledge, participants have developed new interpretations of historical forms, extending the exhibition beyond the gallery and into the wider community.
Across sculpture, text, and moving image, Our Marian asks what it means to return to familiar stories and to imagine them otherwise.
Curated by Jazz Singh Swali.
This exhibition has been supported by Nottingham City Council, UK Shared Prosperity Fund and It's in Nottingham.
Exhibition Preview (booking required):
- Date: Friday 17 July 18:00 – 20:00
- RSVP: Click here to RSVP on Eventbrite
Exhibition Continues:
- Dates: 18 July – 08 August
- Days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Times: 12:00 – 16:00
- No need to book
Location:
- Main Gallery, Second Floor
- BACKLIT, Alfred House, Ashley Street, Nottingham, NG3 1JG
Click here for directions and information on access. If you have any questions on access, please email [email protected]. We will be happy to help.
Access Information
- Access update: There are currently roadworks on Alfred Street outside BACKLIT. We recommend approaching via Ashley Street and continuing to our entrance, marked by the large green BACKLIT sign. Parking is currently limited and there is no access to the loading bay.
- Step-free access: Available via Alfred Street and via a tarmac ramp to the lower ground floor and Project Gallery.
- Lift access: Our staff-operated lift is currently accessible from Ashley Street only. If you require lift access, please email [email protected] in advance or use the intercom when you arrive so that a member of staff can assist you.
- Accessible parking: Limited parking is available by arrangement. To book parking, please call 0115 837 2426 or email [email protected].
- Toilets: All toilets are gender neutral. Please note that none currently have wide-access doors, although we are actively working to improve this next year.
- Assistance dogs: Guide and hearing dogs are welcome throughout the building.
- Need more information? If you have any questions or access requirements before your visit, please get in touch—we're happy to help.