Some gems from the catalogue archive

We wanted to take this opportunity to share some of our exhibition-related publications with you again, for free. Although we are not able to host visitors, it could be that there was something you missed, or would like to revisit. We have been producing online catalogues to help improve the accessibility of our work and ensure that our publications can be easily circulated far and wide.

The first suggestion dates back to Autumn 2019 when Castlefield Gallery celebrated its 35-year anniversary with a survey show of British sculpture, curated in collaboration with art historian Clare O’Dowd and curator John Plowman of Beacon Bureau. ‘No Particular Place to Go?‘ marked a significant showcase of Castlefield Gallery’s rich history of engagement with British sculpture, and a revival of our archive of exhibitions.

The catalogue includes an essay by sculptor Michael Lyons, who also wrote the initial catalogue essay for the Caro Table Sculptures exhibition at Castlefield Gallery in 1984. Lyon’s account of Caro’s working methods formed an important element of the inspiration for ‘No Particular Place to Go?’

The catalogue also includes contributions from Director Helen Weiwora, Curators Matthew Pendergast, Clare O’Dowd and John Plowman, as well as contributions from all of the artists still living, about their involvement with the exhibition.

Another recent exhibition which inspired a publication was the exhibition Undoing hosted between March and May 2019, including  photography, models, sculpture and films devised by artists and architects. ‘UnDoing’ marked a collaboration between Manchester School of Architecture, curator Tom Emery, and Castlefield Gallery that explored how buildings, places and artefacts are repurposed, reinterpreted and remembered.

This catalogue includes a selection of essays by Tom Emery, Sally Stone, Laura Sanderson and Matthew Pendergast, to accompany the exhibition.

The final catalogue selected for this retrospective relates back to an exhibition by Ruth Barker and Hannah Leighton-Boyce from March and April 2018.

Both artists work with a practice that involves embedding themselves within a local community and undertaking research to help develop the subsequent work.

The exhibition inspired a number of creative responses from artists and writers, including this publication of poems written by Jackie Kay CBE, the poet, playwright and novelist. Kay also performed a live recitation of her work at the preview for the exhibition opening at Glasgow Women’s Library in March 2019.

Poet Jazmin Linklater wrote a poem in response to the exhibition, that was published in Poetry Wales. The Castlefield Gallery exhibition also inspired a publication of selected writing by Jo Garbutt.

Photo: Laura White, Pierced, Pierced, Pierced Form, 2011. Image courtesy Jules Lister.