Curated by Nicola Richardson and Marianne Taviner of Vortex Creates, the exhibition includes two new works from their studio showcasing their distinctive bright, bold and beautiful designs that invoke joyful reactions in audiences; RE:wilding and How Does Your Garden Grow.
It bloomed in 2024 at the Herbert Museum & Art Gallery for their 9 week summer show and is currently available for touring, with next exhibition scheduled for the summer.
"JOY... inspired by nature" celebrates Vortex’s collaborative approach to creating, with artists local to each venue curated into the exhibiton.
JOY has been a core value for our entire existence as Vortex; to laugh and play often and bein inspired by the work we do and the people around us to continually create moments of joy in our day to day.
When the world shut down during the pandemic our understanding and seeking of JOY became even more important to us and those around us, and indeed the entire globe. This led to a focused period of research into how certain emotions are triggered and how we find moments of JOY in our lives and world around us. This also included a testing residency at the Nest culminating in a vision for our own JOY period of creating.
We were incredibly JOYful to have been commissioned by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum to bring our vision of JOY to life, and success in our Arts Council Project Development BID to realise the initial phase in 2024.
The inaugeral exhibition of JOY...inspired by nature included 15 outstanding artists, selected as part of an open call looking for people creating JOYful works inspired by JOY and the response was overwhelming.
We were overJOYed to have the wonderful Abeda Begum joining us with our making in the studio. She jumped into our talent-pool of artists back in 2021 when she decided to build her creative practice and we've enjoyed learning more about each other and sharing skills throughout the project.
We are also incredibly lucky to have been able to commission Ashley James Brown and Gemma Costin to bring their artistic talents to the exhibition. Ashley is worked with us on our new artwork How Does Your Garden Grow to create a soundscape for the piece. Gemma, inspired by the subject and the artworks created a scent-scape to allow audiences to smell their way around the space. These two commissions ensure the exhibition is truly immersive and what has come to be expected from the Vortex Studio.
It is with much grateful thanks to the Arts Council England Project Grant and Culture Coventry for funding JOYful dream.
Please email us if you're interested in the possibility of JOY...inspired by nature touring to your venue, and engaging with artists in your locale.
Exhibition Images: Joe Bailey | fivesixphotography
Artists involved to date
24Species of plants in the world
380,000Happiness Has Power
Over Your Immune SystemOr call us on 0757 506 8754
