The COIN project – Celebrating the Old, Inspiring the New – is being run by The Power House (Poole) and will reopen the gallery to the public after 17 May, provided the conditions are still met for the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. 

Submissions are invited now for thoughtful or playful work that flags up the vibrant creative community we live in. 

Lighthouse Chief Executive Elspeth McBain says: “We invited The Power House to take over the gallery space and showcase local talent before the enforced closure due to the pandemic. It seems fitting and right that Lighthouse will reopen to the public in May with this creative programme from our community and we are so pleased to be able to support The Power House in this first partnership project as we all start the process of recovery.” 

The exhibition will run for a month and works on display may include painting, printing, photography, ceramics, textiles, videos, and encompass a complete mix of ideas. An additional programme of workshops, activities and poetry, dance and music sessions is currently being planned, and a key central feature of the display will be a community art project celebrating Hamworthy, led by the commissioned local company Co-Create. 

“We were delighted when Lighthouse offered us their gallery space for a community-focussed exhibition,” says Paul Kelly, Chair of The Power House.  

“Lighthouse is a long-standing venue with a reputation for high quality national arts. The Power House is a relatively new community-focussed organisation with local arts and culture at our core. Our COIN project is a great opportunity to bring those two complementary sides together. COIN offers the chance for local artists to express their unique views and visions of Hamworthy and Poole in a high quality setting.”  

So, if you’ve explored new places, discovered hidden corners, maybe reconnected with familiar sites and objects or have fond memories and stories of this area before or during lockdown, now is your chance to share your passion with everyone else. 

Curator Maureen La Frenais adds: “The work can be about anything as long as there is some link or connection to Poole. We are open to being surprised.” 

The deadline for submissions is 9 May 2021. 

To submit and find out more about the COIN Summer 2021 Open Exhibition email coinsubmissions@thepowerhousepoole.org and discover more at www.thepowerhousepoole.org. 

To find out more or book a place on the Community Art Project go to: https://cocreate.org.uk/get-creative/celebrating-hamworthy/ or email: info@cocreate.org.uk  

Celebrating the Old, Inspiring the New – also known as The COIN Project - is run by The Power House (Poole) and funded by Arts Council England and BCP Council, and supported by Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts.