In 2019 I was lucky enough to visit the Coventry Biennial Of Contemporary Art, the Biennials title for the exhibition in 2019 was called ‘The Twins’ this incorporates events and activities about relationships. The first ever Coventry Biennial took place from the 6th-22nd October 2017 in venues across the city. In 2019 they also used an old rehabilitation clinic to display some of the artists artwork, this was one of their major events. Coventry has also displayed work in residential tower blocks, universities, drop-in centers and in community centers.
Due to research I have found out that Coventry was the first city in the world to twin with another and now has 26 twins around the world. When a city twins with another it involves close contact with both the cities and creating cultural relationship within another. The artists that took part in Coventry’s Biennial ‘Twins’ exhibition show positives and negatives of Coventry being a twin city, it portrays togetherness however also portrays political inequality. Coventry has a huge passion for diversity and all the different cultures within the city, the Coventry Biennial is about being together no matter the differences between individuals and its commitment to its society.
When I visited the Coventry Biennial exhibition in 2019 what really interested me was that one of the galleries was displayed in a rehabilitation clinic. The building itself gave you a feel of what it would have actually been like in the clinic as a patient, they had left the telephones on the wall, there were marks and holes in the walls which I believe gave it that eerie feel to it. However if the artists decided to cover all of that up then it would have lost the derelict feel, and would have looked like any other ordinary building. Even though the building had a gloomy look to it the art work was the complete opposite, which gave it a nice contrast between the artwork and the building. Most the artwork itself was bright, luminous and some was even very psychedelic which I thought was rather unusual due to the fact it being displayed in a rehabilitation clinic which itself is not very bright or cheerful unlike the artwork.
Not only was some of the artwork of Coventry biennial displayed in the rehabilitation clinic it was displayed in the Herbert art gallery and museum in Coventry also at the Arcadia Gallery which I was also lucky enough to visit. The Arcadia Gallery is a temporary exhibition owned by Coventry Artspace which is a charity who provide affordable spaces for artists to come and exhibit their artwork. This exhibition is available to artists in Coventry also the surrounding areas nearby to come and present their artwork.
Michael Snodgrass by Ryan Hughes is the artist curator and director of the Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art in 2019.
