Bradford Awarded 2025 UK City of Culture
V21 Artspace celebrate the 3D Virtual Exhibition Tours they have produced for Impressions Gallery as Bradford is awarded the 2025 UK City of Culture.
V21 Artspace are delighted to celebrate the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Award. As part of the programme which increases significant social and economic benefits for the area, V21 Artspace take a look back at their involvement in a city which has a fierce independence, progressive social reform and its spectacular cultural heritage as they look back over their archives of 3D Virtual Exhibition Tours produced for Impressions Gallery since 2020.
Impressions Gallery is a charity that helps people to understand the world through photography and acts as an agent for change which opened in 1972 as one of the first specialist photography galleries in the country, and have played a vital role in changing the way people think about photography. They continue to support and encourage ground-breaking artists who challenge and change photography. The organisations presents world-class exhibitions that explore issues such as identity, race, gender and politics, showcasing new and recent work, as well as historical photography outside the mainstream.
These 3D Virtual Exhibition Tours have been made possible with the generous support of Arts Council England and ArtFund. We welcome you to view these using the links below:
3D Virtual Exhibition Tour View: Seedscapes: Future - Proofing Nature at Impressions Gallery. Courtesy the Artists and Impressions Gallery
Seedscapes: Future - Proofing Nature
From 2 September 2020 to 12 December 2020
In a world shaped by Covid-19, it seems more important than ever to consider nature, biodiversity, and the environment. Seedscapes brings together five contemporary artists exploring global efforts to safeguard vital plant species from extinction. Plant diversity is rapidly declining, and faces threats from global warming, pollution and war. Yet without seeds and their potential for food and medicine, we cannot sustain ourselves. Featuring photography, moving image and sculpture, Seedscapes reveals how international artists, biologists and ecologists are responding to these challenges. Explore the 3D Virtual Exhibition Tour: v21artspace.com/seedscapes-future-proofing-nature
3D Virtual Exhibition Tour View: Carolyn Mendelsohn: Being Inbetween at Impressions Gallery. Courtesy the Artist and Impressions Gallery
Carolyn Mendelsohn: Being Inbetween
From 9 January 2021 to 24 April 2021
Made over a period of 6 years, Being Inbetween is a series of powerful photographic portraits of girls aged between ten and twelve, exploring the complex transition between childhood and young adulthood. With many portraits never-before exhibited, this is the most extensive exhibition of the series to date. Explore the 3D Virtual Exhibition Tour: v21artspace.com/carolyn-mendelsohn-being-inbetween
3D Virtual Exhibition Tour View: In Which Language Do We Dream at Impressions Gallery. Courtesy the Artists and Impressions Gallery
In Which Language Do We Dream
From 7th August 2021 to 13th November 2021
It has been 10 years since the beginning of the conflict in Syria in 2011. Since then, more than 500,000 people have been killed or are missing and an estimated 6.6 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes and country.
In the UK, we are familiar with the news headlines and the photographic images of the so-called ‘refugee crisis’. But what happens after displacement to those who are resettled and try to rebuild their lives? What about personal stories, and the relationships that form between new friends and new neighbours? And how do people hold on to loved ones and a past life that they had to leave behind?
In Which Language Do We Dream? will offer fresh insights into these issues, through the photographic perspectives of a Syrian family with first-hand experience.
The multi-stranded exhibition will present an intimate perspective on the lives of displaced people: one in which displaced people themselves tell their own stories. Archival family photos rescued from Syria will be presented alongside contemporary photographs by Rich Wiles, new work by the al-Hindawi family, and in particular Ruba al-Hindawi, as well as a specially commissioned film of WhatsApp photos sent by their extended family members and shared across national boundaries.
3D Virtual Exhibition Tour View: Through Our Lens: Growing up with Covid-19 at Impressions Gallery. Courtesy the Artists and Impressions Gallery
Through Our Lens: Growing up with Covid-19
From 5th January 2022 to 26th March 2022
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted lives across the globe, hindering opportunity, enforcing isolation and severing ties between communities. News headlines reveal dangers to the elderly, frustrations of working from home and the struggles of keyworkers maintaining vital services, but what of the so-called ‘Covid generation’, teenagers young people trying to find their way in this unprecedented time?
Through Our Lens is a project featuring poignant photographs made by a group of diverse young people from the Bradford District during the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with award-winning artist Carolyn Mendelsohn, who quickly responded to the critical need for community, collaboration and skill development during the first national lockdown, over 100 young people have taken part in the project. Initially offering guidance and mentoring via Zoom, Mendelsohn taught participants the skills to use photography as a tool to document their experiences and help make sense of their changing worlds.
V21 Artspace Co-founders: Joe Clark and Claire Cutts 3D scanning ‘Our Silver City, 2094’ exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary. Artwork: Céline Condorelli, Resuscitated Aural Study, 2021 Courtesy the artist, commissioned by Nottingham Contemporary.
Joe Clark, co-founder of V21 Artspace comments: “We are delighted to have built this incredible relationship with Impressions Gallery which has allowed us to showcase an intriguing aspect of Bradford to our global audience.”
Similarly Claire Cutts, co-founder of the 3D Virtual Exhibition production and publishing company recognises the greater cultural significance of the Impressions Gallery exhibitions that the company has presented virtually “Our work started with the organisation initially when Impressions Gallery needed to bring visitors to their exhibitions virtually when they weren’t able to visit in person throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which in my opinion displays the progressivism of individuals and organisations in Bradford, in how quickly they can creatively adapt to changes, which is why we both feel that this award is extremely well deserved for the city!”
