M. Institute
Artist's Wakes
Bury Art Gallery & Museum
Bury
Lancashire
Artist's Wakes
Curators Documentation and Text
The Artists Lottery Syndicate, BMCA, Chris and Kier, Contents May Vary, An Endless Supply, Mark Essen, Steve Hunt, The Invisible Committee Prestwich and Whitefield Branch, Lee Joss, El Leon, Malgras|Naudet, M. Institute, The Provincial Forge, Societe Realiste, Symbol Archive, Penny Whitehead & Daniel Simpkins
During the industrial revolution the tradition of the wakes took on a new importance as workers closed the mills in each town across Lancashire so they could take an annual holiday, with or without the permission of the mill owners. Borrowing its name from that lost history The Artists' Wakes celebrates the power of collective and collaborative practices in our own precarious times. Increasing numbers of artists are choosing to get rid of themselves, favoring an us instead of a me, and in doing so are asking questions about the very nature of thing they are engaging in, finding a power in unity just like the cotton workers.
For one afternoon in September at the Bury Art Gallery in Greater Manchester, a selection of artists whose practices engage in such approaches will come together to present their work. A cross section of activity has been drawn from as far away as Mexico and as close as Whitefield. Each group’s practice realises a very different vision, tackling ideas ranging from the social and political through institutional critique to the jocose; it is not the form or content of the work that connects these projects but a belief in the possibility of what can happen when we work together.
Bury Art Gallery, Moss Street, Bury, Lancashire BL9 0DF 0161 253 5878
