Eye-controlled digital art, cassette tapes and Johnny Vegas – Perry’s putting on a show of his artists’ lockdown work, and it’s incredibly moving
Grayson’s Art Club was a brilliantly and quickly conceived response to Britain’s pandemic-induced lockdowns. The first series covered the first two confinements, the second one our third – though you suspect not final – sheltering-in-place. The unflagging optimism of Grayson, and his equally indefatigable wife Philippa, framed the enforced hiatus as an opportunity for us to get stuck into something we might not otherwise do, and turn to art as a way of processing the unprecedented situation and expressing the otherwise inexpressible. Each series had six episodes, with a different theme each week, and asked the public to submit pieces on the subject with the aim of putting on an exhibition to mark the whole extraordinary experience once circumstances allowed. Grayson would interview with his usual warm skill some of the artists – even and especially if they wouldn’t call themselves that – by Zoom, drawing out their stories and feeding them back as further insight into their work specifically and the power of art in general. The programme garnered a million viewers a week and more than 17,000 members of the public submitted their artwork.
Now Grayson’s Art Exhibition is here to showcase preparations for the event at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and talk – face to face this time! Oh, the heady intimacy and excitement! – with some of the people whose pieces will be on show.
