New Season of Exhibitions At The Stephen Lawrence Gallery
The Stephen Lawrence Gallery at the University of Greenwich kicks off a new season on Monday, October 29 with an exhibition which brings together artists and elderly people to look at ways of representing memory and experience.
The exhibition, Making Memories Matter, displays a collection of memory boxes filled with photos and souvenirs, telling the stories of their creators: elderly people from Finland, Nigeria, Vietnam, India, China, Jamaica, Poland and the UK. The boxes, made from redundant ammunition cases, tell stories of immigration, evacuation and the experiences of the creators who lived through key events of the 20th century.
Memories include a three year old’s experience of joining Gandhi’s ‘long walk’ with her freedom fighter mother, working in the silk factories of Hong Kong, and surviving the Lodz Ghetto in war time Poland. All these stories explore the nature of identity and the impact of migration and experience on the individuals involved.
The show has some strong local links too: many exhibits originate from the Age Exchange Reminiscence Centre in Blackheath, and are returning to Greenwich after having been shown throughout Europe. Also, the co-creator of the project, Pam Schweitzer, is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Greenwich.
The gallery has a new curator, David Waterworth. David comes to the post from Gimpel Fils Gallery in London. He also lectures on the image and digital imaging course in the department of Creative, Critical and Communication Studies of the University of Greenwich.
David says: “The Stephen Lawrence Gallery is one of the ways through which the university communicates with the wider community. The gallery, in line with its founding principles, seeks to promote an inclusive attitude towards the arts and visual culture.
The Stephen Lawrence Gallery will continue to provide a platform for student work through final year shows, which are often the first time that students have the opportunity to display their work in public.”
The exhibition runs from Monday, October 29 to Saturday, December 8 at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, Queen Anne Court, University of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London SE10 9LS. The gallery opening hours are Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 4pm.
The exhibition will also be marked by a special event on Remembrance Sunday (November 11 between 12pm and 4pm) at which Pam Schweitzer will speak. Copies of the catalogue Making Memories Matter will be available at the gallery throughout the exhibition.
For more information on the project visit: www.makingmemoriesmatter.org or contact the curator of the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, David Waterworth, by telephone on 020 8331 8260, or by e-mail: d.m.waterworth@gre.ac.uk
For media information, images and interviews contact: Public Relations, University of Greenwich, c.a.smith@gre.ac.uk or 020 8331 8937.