The Late Shows –
Art and Community in Newcastle

A Methodist art hub in Newcastle has welcomed hundreds of culture lovers to collaborate and reflect on the exhaustion of daily life and the need to rest and restore.

Shieldfield Art Works (SAW) is a project of the Methodist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne and uses art to explore what it is to be human, encouraging participation in unique and unexpected ways. SAW’s ‘Many Hands’ exhibition was part of The Late Shows, an award-winning free culture crawl through Newcastle and Gateshead, held once a year on a Friday and Saturday night. During The Late Shows art studios, performance venues, galleries, museums and historical buildings open into the evening. The shows take place at 70 venues across the area, attracting thousands of people from all ages and backgrounds.

The ‘Many Hands’ exhibition at SAW is part gallery installation and part interactive experience. Around 300 origami bricks were folded by volunteers and staff before the doors opened. The paper used to make the bricks has images of community members’ hands printed on it. In a darkened room, the bricks were arranged into semi-circular walls evoking a sheepfold and echoing the acts of gathering and connection.

“Sheepfolds are structures of safety and community. The bricks, made to counter oppression rather than being made under it, represent care and connection countering the pressures of contemporary society,” says Lydia Oak, director of SAW.

‘Many Hands’ is part of SAW’s ongoing ‘Creating Fallow’ programme exploring labour, seasonality and the concept of Sabbath. The work has been inspired by the Book of Exodus where it describes the story of an Egyptian Pharaoh who enslaved the Hebrew people, forcing them to make bricks which would fuel his future. After they escaped Egypt and gained freedom from the Pharaoh’s rule, the God who provided them with freedom also provided them with instructions to live, including “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”.

“We're in a society where there’s a lot of work, a lot of doing, a lot of producing and consuming, but not a lot of resting or reflecting,” says Lydia.

Liddy Buswell is communications officer at SAW, “I think everybody's got it in their heart to be an artist. What SAW does is make art accessible to people.

“Shieldfield is a small area in the east end of Newcastle. Sometimes it’s described as the sort of area that people just pass through, but it's an interesting and vibrant community. You've got a lot of people who have lived here for years, but also social housing, student accommodation and migrant communities, with 25 languages spoken in the local school. It's a really diverse community, with lots of people giving a hand and welcoming people in, and we’re really proud to be part of that ecosystem.”

In addition to the paper bricks at the exhibition, visitors were encouraged to make small, clay bricks of their own to take home.

“We talk about the bricks as exploitation but this is a calm, meditative antidote to that. We're encouraging people to take the clay bricks they have made home and give them to someone as an act of community building. We want people to think about the opposite to a consumerist, individualist culture. People will also get a card that explains a bit about the theology behind the thinking.”

Over 450 people attended the exhibition opening. “Director Lydia said, “It's really exciting to have a lot of different people who have never been in our space.”

Those who attended the exhibition were keen to express their support!

“I enjoyed the biblical story of Pharaoh and found the idea of overwork interesting, because I feel like our culture nowadays does try to have you striving for living to work rather than working to live.”

“There's a lot going on, having a young family and with working and lots of different things, it's very easy for it all just to add up and build up and feel like a big weight. Resting means those things don't necessarily go away, but it lessens the pressure”.

‘Many Hands’ is part of a wider, public-facing programme called ‘Creating Fallow’ that considers Sabbath, rest and labour and will run through next year. A final exhibition at SAW will share all the findings of the year’s work.