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MK Calling 2024 : A summer of Celebrating Inclusion

Updated: Oct 31



In this week’s arc, we are going to focus on a unique experience offered this summer by Milton Keynes Gallery. MK Gallery managed to enhance its repertoire by partnering with five teams to cocurate an exhibition featuring over 120 artists. This exhibition’s curation has been thoroughly planned, not only concerning its conceptual axes but also managing the different needs of the five communities. Moreover, the creative process and practice demonstrate a policy of care rooted in inclusivity. Being inclusive means unlocking the hidden abilities of each person, giving them the chance to celebrate their uniqueness. By balancing the spontaneity of reflective processes with organized practices like spatial capabilities, MK’s calling for 2024 is a challenging but successful project. The project consists of five diverse exhibition rooms that follow each other.


MK CALLING! Artists

photo credits: Chris Henley


An overview of the exhibition spaces


The first room, curated by MK Snap, celebrates the multilayered nature of identity, presenting various factors that shape it. For example, visitors can reflect on Matt Waruszysnki’s “Cobblers,” which presents a playful enigma of the word’s context through a single portraiture depiction. Additionally, Thomson Hall’s satirical “Political Sleaze” demonstrates the brainstorming process regarding political issues. Finally, artworks such as C L Davies’ organic “Conversation” forms and D.P. Hanson’s “Mother Love” aim to connect with nature.


MK SNAP space

photo: Rob Harris


Another kind of connection is sought by the Visually Impaired People Group—a multisensory one that celebrates the sensual nature of art. Kinetic art like Lucy Gregory’s “Blame Game” captures the hectic movement and spontaneity of blaming. A move in time is also manifested in Houghton’s still sculpture “Dance the Blues,” which presents lines “dressed” in velvet. Its softness, formed by clipped yarns, carries an erotic element, different from Allistair Covell’s “The Night Cafe,” which leaves a fluffy impression connected with the cozy feeling of a cafe. Finally, Lois McKendrick’s “I’m Yours” invites us to connect smoothness with the intimacy apparent in friendships. This curation raises the question: What kind of sense are concepts? They are more than ideas performed.


Visually Impaired People Group space

photo: Rob Harris


Photo :Chris Henley


However, ideas performed still shape our processes and practices, as proven in the Unknown Collective’s curation of Possible Unknowns. This exhibit demonstrates a variety of artworks that deal with the concept of the uncanny to uncover fears and anxieties revolving around the human psyche or explore possibilities of limited narratives/concepts. Specifically, artworks like Liz Clifford’s “Symbio-Being 3” and Helen Clarke’s “Emitting Object(s)” explore the possibility of coexistence in every possible scenario or the metamorphosis of one state/space to another, such as Alana Lake’s “HITS (You are the crack like haze in my brain)” and Imo Dunkley’s “Praising Spaces.”


Unknown Collective space

photo: Rob Harris


Co-existence, but in an assimilation sense, is referred to in the Middle Eastern Group’s curation of Third Culture creatives, which aims to fight the isolation of such minority groups. To provide that home feeling, they share common needs, such as praying, depicted in Nour Huda’s “Prayer,” or concerns, presented in James Bristow’s “Yes, but where are you really from?” Additionally, Sofia Fox Barton’s “Heritage Matchboxes” and Eliza Rawlings’ “Self-Portraits” address the struggles of positive self-image as a result of isolation and the need to reframe it.


Middle Eastern Group space

photo: Rob Harris


Lastly, The Q Alliance seeks to fight the isolation of LGBTQ people by collecting various artworks that manifest partially queer qualities as a first step. These representations unveil the sublime materiality of discarded and humble mediums, such as Darcey Fleming’s “Bubble Bath” or Cara Heath’s “Mum’s Engagement Dress.” At other times, it makes us question how women are viewed through the eyes of the LGBTQ team, as seen in Alethia Hayden’s “Burnt,” and reflect on the fights undertaken by LGBTQ communities to gain their rights, beautifully encapsulated in Sarah Watts’ “Steeped in the Strain of Past Labours.”


Q Alliance space

photo:Rob Harris


A cross-engaged process as a new dialogue in teams


In conclusion, MK Gallery’s summer exhibition demonstrates that diversity can be celebrated not only through encouraging acts and protests but also through engaging practices such as the co-curation process. This inclusive approach has successfully highlighted the uniqueness of each community involved. We pledge in the near future that teams will actively engage with the curatorial processes of other teams fostering a dialogue which allows each other to focus on their themes within another group’s framework. 


Let's imagine how the Visually Impaired People Group could perceive the concept of the uncanny through their senses, or how the Q Alliance team could demonstrate their queer identity from the perspective of visually impaired individuals. Additionally, what insights might arise if the Middle Eastern group adjusted its customs to meet the needs of the Q Alliance and vice versa?

Furthermore, how could MK Snap capture the brainstorming processes of the Visually Impaired People Group in their depictions? All these questions highlight the challenges and opportunities that we are waiting to be addressed in future exhibitions.


Stay tuned for even more exciting collaborations ahead!



More info:https://mkgallery.org/event/mk-calling-2024/ -> download MK zine









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