We Bathe in Starlight
We Bathe In Starlight was a partnership project between Arts & Minds and Leeds Arts Gallery, drawing inspiration from the paintings of John Atkinson Grimshaw in the exhibition Don’t Let’s Ask for the Moon. We have the Stars with a series of poetry and print making sessions at Leeds Art Gallery and Leeds Industrial Museum for members of the Arts & Minds Network.
Taking a closer look at Grimshaw’s atmospheric paintings, Arts & Minds members were invited to respond to the works through the art of poetry. On their creative journey they explored the breadth of the artist’s practice with curator Nigel Walsh, the period in which the artist lived – through the collections at Leeds Industrial Museum with Community Curator Aleks Fagelman – and were guided by local poets Michelle Scally Clark, Peter Spafford and Joanna Jowett using a variety of writing techniques and approaches.
Casting a new light on Grimshaw’s paintings, the group shared their personal reflections and imagined narratives, creating a new perspective to experience alongside his artworks. The poems and visual work created during the project were displayed in the Ziff Gallery in Leeds Art Gallery, occupying the wall space where Grimshaw’s paintings are usually displayed whilst those works were relocated for the exhibition Don’t Let’s Ask for the Moon...
Following the success of the project, a book containing the poems and images created by Arts & Minds members was produced. Arts & Minds members launched the book with an afternoon of poetry readings in the Ziff Gallery, sharing their written words with the public. A digital version of the book can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link below:
Arts & Minds would like to extend a special thanks to all the staff involved at Leeds Museums and Galleries who were such superb hosts, the three wonderful poets that ran the sessions, and to all the amazing Arts & Minds members who took part in the project.
