Closed Bank Holidays.
New Faces, New Focus: Stories We Share is a collaborative touring exhibition by Open Eye Gallery, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, and Aberdeenshire Museums Service.
Exploring themes of journeys, identity and belonging, the exhibition brings together new creative work, museum collections and archives to celebrate the stories of communities across Liverpool City Region, Armagh and Aberdeenshire.
Through collaboration with socially engaged artists, community members have reflected on migration, heritage, personal milestones and cultural traditions, creating new connections through storytelling.
Nina Karetska and the Ukrainian community in Sefton have found connections with The Atkinson’s textile collection and Ukrainian embroidery traditions. The project celebrates the creative talents of the community and Ukrainian cultural heritage through craft, movement, painting and photography – a reminder that our cultures are connected through everyday moments, family stories, and the desire to remember where we come from.
Nina Karetska, Socially Engaged Photographer, Sefton, said: “As a Ukrainian, this project became much more for me. It became an opportunity to tell a story that I know from the inside. When people speak about Ukrainians who arrived in the UK, they often speak in numbers, statistics, or headlines. I wanted to move beyond that. I wanted people to see the individuals behind those stories – their strength, creativity, humour, resilience, fears, memories, and hopes.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to use photography as a way of sharing these voices. Through these conversations, I was constantly reminded that every person carries a unique story, yet many of us share the same feelings of loss, longing, and determination.
“What I found was an extraordinary community of talented, creative, intelligent and inspiring people living here in the UK. Artists, engineers, teachers, musicians, entrepreneurs, mothers, volunteers – people whose identities are far richer than the label of “refugee.”
More New Faces, New Focus exhibitions in the Liverpool City Region can be visited at Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool, 17 September – 20 December), Kirkby Gallery (Knowsley, 10 September – 20 December), and The World of Glass (St Helens, 17 September – 20 December).
Image credit: Home Carried with Us, Nina Karetska
Going Places
New Faces, New Focus is part of Going Places, an Art Fund programme bringing museums and galleries from all four nations together to share their collections in the largest collaborative touring project of its kind. Six museum networks spanning the breadth of the country have been co-creating 12 major touring exhibitions, taking the UK’s collections on an epic journey that will result in 40 unique exhibitions made with and for local communities. Going Places is a celebration of UK collections and the people who bring them to life.
Going Places is an Art Fund programme made possible with major support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Julia Rausing Trust, with additional support from a generous group of trusts, foundations and individuals.
