Traces of Displacement
7 April 2023 – 12 May 2024
This exhibition uses the Whitworth’s collection to address one of the major humanitarian concerns of the 20th and 21st centuries – forced displacement. In tracing displacement within the collection, a partial, fragmentary, and yet compelling set of stories is emerging from academic and community collaboration. Traces of Displacement uncovers stories of persecution, creativity, and resilience, and the experiences of artists and makers who were displaced in their homelands, forced to flee, survived, and even thrived in exile.
Artists include Mounira al Solh, Otti Berger, Leilah Babiyre, Caroline Walker, Safdar Ahmed, Bashir Makhoul, Frank Brangwyn, Cornelia Parker, Mandla Rae, Raisa Kabir, Dusan Kusmic, Ian Rawlinson, Cecily Brown, Charles Green and Lyndell Brown, Francesco Simeti, Lucien Freud, Marc Chagall, Mary Kessell, Edward Bawden, James McBey, and Frank Auerbach amongst others.
Traces of Displacement is part of a major AHRC-funded (Arts and Humanities Research Council) research project: Understanding Displacement Aesthetics led by Professor Ana Carden Coyne with Dr. Chrisoula Lionis and Dr. Angeliki Rousseau.
Image: Mounira al Solh, I Strongly Believe in the Right to be Frivolous, 2012-ongoing. Courtesy of the artist.
Further information:
- Opening times: Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00 am-5.00 pm; open until 9.00 pm on Thursdays
- Location: The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER
- Getting there: By foot: 20-30 minures from Manchester city centre; By Bike: Sheffield stands and lockers (£1 coin, refundable) both available at the gallery; By Bus: 15, 41, 42, 43, 140 – 143, 147 – ask for bus stop nearest MRI, Oxford Road; By Metrolink: St Peter’s Square (plus 10 minutes on the bus or 20 minutes on foot); Train: Oxford Road (plus 10 minutes on the bus or 20 minutes on foot); By Car: On-street parking (maximum stay, 2 hours) on Denmark Road. Nearest car park Cecil Street
- Admission is free
