SHIFT HAPPENS presented work made in collaboration with a group from Brighton Women’s Centre, exhibited for Phoenix Art Space's Community Takeover, A Seat at the Table.

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SHIFT HAPPENS was made by twelve people who met on a regular basis, committing to seeing what emerges when they trust a creative process and each other.

 

The exhibition explored the process of making art as a way to think through personal experiences. We asked ourselves what it means to reflect upon, activate, and acclimatise to change? How can we seek ways to visualise the uncertainties and complexities of our lives? Individual ideas were developed collectively, and during the exhibition visitors were invited to contribute by writing a postcard, drawing to make a Food Bank Still Life (with Phoenix Food Shop), adding to the wall of monoprint chairs and performing at the BWC Open Mic.

 

This year-long project began with the video Lazy Boy, developed from a previous project bringing the story of a LazyBoy chair into a discussion about power, resilience, mental health and recovery. Here different chairs were interrogated as a site of both conflict and comfort, with other objects and narratives informing the material explorations. The project involved making monoprints, large-scale and collaborative drawings, 360 video, performance, animation and playing with objects and words.

 

THE ‘SHIFTERS’:

Alyce, Annis, Cindy, Jacq, Jaqueline, Jeanette, Lee, Leila, Pip, Phillipa, Sarah, Stevie

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SHIFT HAPPENS was funded by Arts Council England, with additional support from Brighton Women's Centre and Phoenix Arts Space​