Tate collection masterpieces touring Midlands and North to 'increase access to art'

Masterpieces by artists including David Hockney, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol from Tate’s national collection are going on tour around the Midlands and North.

Tate has joined forces with the international art foundation Art Explora and MuMo mobile museum to take the paintings on a 12-week tour until 11 May 2024.

The Mobile Museum will tour a specially curated exhibition Soup, Socks and Spiders! Art of the Everyday, an exploration of the “still life” genre which will feature Andy Warhol’s celebrated Campbell’s soup.

The exhibition brings together contemporary and historic works of art from the Tate national collection that present everyday objects in unexpected ways.

Spanning art movements including Cubism, Surrealism and Pop Art, as well as contemporary photography and digital art, the exhibition features work by 22 artists including Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Fernand Leger, Roy Lichtenstein, Nam June Paik, Cornelia Parker, Wolfgang Tillmans and Andy Warhol.

It is expected that the tour will offer a first encounter with art to groups of school children and young people across the region as well as community groups, care home residents and adults from all backgrounds.

Groups will be given a tour around the exhibition and will be invited to join creative workshops, before families, neighbours and the local community will be invited to visit an exhibition of artworks made during the workshop sessions.

Helen Legg, director, Tate Liverpool said: "It is rare that the collection is shown in this way, in non-traditional settings, but it is key if we are to breakdown perceived barriers and bring crucial encounters with art to young people and communities.

"We learnt last year, when this project was in Liverpool, that the alternative learning environment provided meaningful, memorable experiences to young people.

"I’m thrilled that works from the National Collection will be touring the country and reaching thousands more people in the coming months, promoting the importance of creative learning and access to the arts for young people."

Frederic Jousset, founder of Art Explora, said: “The Mobile Museum is an opportunity for thousands of people, and especially school children, to experience art for the first time, right on their doorsteps.

"In this time of crisis for local authorities, with increasing pressures on arts budgets and arts provision on a regional and local level, the Art Explora Mobile Museum is a chance to level up between the children who have access to art and the ones who get left behind.

"It’s about creating social justice and cohesion.”

The tour will bring works from Tate’s collection directly to communities in Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire, Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, Walsall in the West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, Wigan in Greater Manchester, Rotherham in South Yorkshire and Tarporley in Cheshire.

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