Now community can join the Mutiny as “tiny” artists

04 Jul 2023

With one of the UK’s biggest exhibitions of contemporary art taking place across three West Suffolk towns this summer, residents can now join in as community artists.

The Mutiny in Colour exhibition is running at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, and from 15 July, from Haverhill Art Centre. 

It’s a follow up to the Moments exhibition which West Suffolk Council held at Moyse’s Hall in 2021. During that exhibition, the council teamed up with Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District to hold the Art Around Town project where residents created their own art on pizza boxes which were then displayed in shop windows creating an art trial around the town centre. 

Now Art Around Town is back and not only in Bury St Edmunds, but in Haverhill and Newmarket as well. A total of 40 tiny art galleries have been created across the three towns and residents are invited to create their own tiny art works to display. 

Free to view, each gallery space will measure just 25cm in height, 40cm in width and 20cm in depth. Installed in accessible indoor locations, they will be fitted with a stylish gallery hanging system and even a few ‘mini art lovers’ figurines. Arts and cultural groups are being invited to take on the role of curators.

The galleries will display miniature artworks by local artists with each piece being about the size of a business card which will also include information about the artist and curators. They will be on display until the end of August, although their content could be changed around as often as the curators wish.

Cllr Ian Shipp, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture at West Suffolk Council which runs Moyse’s Hall and initiated the Mutiny in Colour exhibition with support from Brandler Galleries, said: “We hope residents will visit Mutiny and feel inspired to create their own Tiny Art to go on display. The Pizza Box project two years ago created a real buzz and this time around it is also taking place in Haverhill and Newmarket as well. We know some of the contemporary art we have on display across Mutiny is fun, some of it is challenging but all of it has something to say. Now we’re inviting resident to join the Mutiny and put their Tiny Art on display.”

Our Bury St Edmunds is supporting the Tiny Art project which launches in Bury St Edmunds this Saturday. It’s chief executive Mark Cordell, said: “We are delighted to be supporting this community art project. Last time, the Pizza Box art attracted a lot of interest with some fantastic, colourful displays in the windows of shops and other businesses. Having modern art such as Banksy’s Sandcastle Girl in the town centre museum is fantastic for the town and Tiny Art will add to that excitement by giving residents and visitors the chance to become community artists themselves.”

The Tiny Art project will launch in Newmarket on Saturday 15 July. Tracey Harding, manager at Discover Newmarket said: “We are delighted to be taking part in this collaborate community project along with Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill. The Munity in Colour is such a wonderful exhibition, and this initiative provides the opportunity for us to highlight some of our local artists and provide a fun element for residents and visitors alike to enjoy in Newmarket town centre this summer.”

And in Haverhill, the Tiny Art Project will launch on Saturday 22 July, a week after Haverhill Arts Centre opens its Mutiny in Colour exhibition there. Sara Marsh from Haverhill Town Council said: “We’ve got some truly giant pieces of art from Pure Evil and Inksy in the Haverhill exhibition so to go to the teeny extreme with the tiny galleries is really entertaining. Several community groups are busy getting creative and we can’t wait to see where their imagination leads them.”
All the latest news about the tiny galleries and other Mutiny in Colour community events will be shared via Instagram @artaroundtownwestsuffolk.

Art lovers can follow a Tiny Art map trail showing the location of the 40 galleries across the three towns. These can be downloaded via social media or collected in person from Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket and Haverhill Arts Centre – these are also the Mutiny in Colour contemporary art exhibition venues. Copies of the map will also be available at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds and the Tiny Art Galleries.

It’s hoped the Tiny Art Around Town will inspire people to discover more about contemporary art and visit the Mutiny in Colour exhibition. In recognition of the cost-of-living crisis, entry prices for Mutiny in Colour have been kept as low as they can while covering costs, with prices of £7 per location for adults and £3 for children aged 12-18 years, while under 12s get in for free. Tickets for each location, can be booked online at www.whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk/mutiny selecting your venue.

West Suffolk Council is supporting the exhibition at Haverhill Arts Centre with £24,307 from the money it was allocated from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit GOV.UK - UK Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus

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