Art on the House project at The Art House, Southampton

Art on the House project at The Art House, Southampton

Published on
The final season of Southampton’s grassroots cultural stalwart The Art House is in full swing with every week packed with gigs as artists queue up for “one last show” in the much loved venue.
The Art House will no longer have a permanent, bricks and mortar home but will still very much be a presence in the city after it vacates its Above Bar premises this spring.
Whilst the crew are upbeat about future plans, especially since a new home has been found for the regular community pantry, one volunteer said ‘It is hard to think of this building being quiet and empty, after all the noise, music and art that has happened over the years’.

To make sure the building is wrapped in love, the Art House team have announced a way for all to get involved as they launch “Art on the House” – an open collaborative art project to “wrap” the building in photos of and from all of the folks who have been involved over the years.

The project is open to anyone who has benefitted from the venue over the years; as an audience member, cafe user, performer, or community pantry user. Participation is easy, a small donation towards the costs and a photo sent via email and anyone can be part of this exciting collaborative art piece.

Once the piece has been assembled in early March it will be printed onto vinyl wrap and applied to the ground floor windows at the front of the building at 178 Above Bar Street, where it will remain for the final weeks – and presumably until a new tenant moves into the building.

Nicola Beck – the local photo artist who will be assembling the piece said: “I am so excited about this work, the Art House has been pivotal in my own development as an artist and is all about community so this is an amazing opportunity to put faces to that community and put on record what has happened there over the years”.

Submissions are already coming in, from photos of people in The Art House to artwork specially created for this installation. The photos are as diverse as the people who visit The Art House.

Once the piece is completed, a series of very high resolution photos will be taken and these will be available either digitally or as physical prints to folks who donate a little more to the project. Any surplus donations will go towards supporting the Art House’s Community Cafe / Pantry project.

Art House Director Jani Franck said “I loved this idea as soon as I heard it, what better way to announce that ‘It’s a Wrap” on our tenure of 178 Above Bar than to wrap the building with art from our community?”

You can find out more about this exciting chance to get involved in the Southampton Cultural scene on the Art House website: thearthousesouthampton.org/join-the-art-on-the-house-collective/

Video link: youtu.be/jW72DT6iUCg

 

  • We hope you enjoy our website. In Common is not for profit. We rely on donations from readers to keep the site running. Could you help to support us for as little as 25p a week? Please help us to carry on offering independent grass roots media. Visit: https://www.patreon.com/incommonsoton