Welcome to the all-new(ish) Surface!
The countdown is on until we reopen our doors and invite you all back into Surface for our upcoming exhibitions, and we couldn’t be more excited! So now seems the perfect time to tell you about the all-new Surface...
Ok, so we may not be totally new. We’re in the same building with many of the same lovely volunteers as before (as well as some new faces!), but we’ve had a rebrand and ditched ‘Gallery’ from our name - and for good reason:
We’re not just a gallery. We are a mutually supportive arts collective.
We know what you’re thinking - what does that mean? Well let us tell you...
We are an act in three parts, as it were:
Visitors to the opening night of Ritual: Studio Artist Show in 2020
Visit
We have a diverse programme of exhibitions, hosted across our online platform, two gallery spaces and our alternative arts space. Our exhibitions are for the local community and are always free to visit - we think that’s important. We work with individuals and institutions such as NTU to offer the local community of artists and students the chance to exhibit and share their work with the Nottingham community. Our online exhibitions allow us to reach a wider audience too, spreading the Surface ethos and sharing contemporary art with as many people as we can, which we think can only be a good thing!
Our volunteer exhibition coordinator Jez is helping to install an exhibition.
Volunteer
At the heart of Surface is our volunteers. Through our programme of exhibitions and events, we offer our volunteers the chance to get involved and gain experience in all aspects of running a contemporary art gallery. Everything from writing press releases, designing flyers, promoting our events via social media, installing exhibitions and invigilating (including so much more!) is done by our lovely volunteers. To put it simply, Surface would not be Surface without our volunteers; they’re our heart and soul. We are regularly on the lookout for new volunteers to add to our team and bring a fresh perspective to Surface - get in contact with us if you would like to join our team!
Exhibit
Our Main Gallery, Project Space and Alternative Arts Space (Le Loovre) offer local artists and students, as well as creatives from further afield, the chance to exhibit their work in a contemporary art gallery at a reasonable price. Our exhibition spaces are aimed at early to mid-career artists to give them the much needed experience in the arts world; our exhibition spaces support artists’ in their careers, and their exhibitions support our volunteers in gaining experience. Like we said, Surface is mutually supportive. Over the last year we adopted an online approach and created a series of online exhibitions, which widened the Surface community and allowed us to exhibit more work than ever before, from artists all over the globe.
Every year we hold the International Postcard Show, here’s some of the fabulous 2020 entries!
Our rebrand isn’t just a shiny new logo and website either! It’s been a chance for us to re-focus on what is important to us - our community. The last year has taught us all how important community is, and as we reopen in this (hopefully) post-lockdown world we wanted our brand to reflect this. Over the last 20 years, Surface (previously Turtle Arts) has been host to many exhibitions, events, volunteers and artists, but one thing that has remained constant is the sense of community.
As we enter a new era for Surface, with a trimmed down name, a slick new website and a streamlined logo, our focus will continue to be our community: our volunteers, our studio artists, our institutional partners, and you, our visitors. So we have kept the Surface colours, because to us they represent our community.
We’re not just a gallery, we are a community.
We are Surface!
We cannot wait to reopen and welcome you back into our space. We’re looking forward to seeing you all on the 25th June for our first opening night for the Resurface: Studio Artist Show, Cauldron Born: How Long I Have Thirsted to be a God Among Men and Home 家 Lar : A Series Of Collaborative Works About Home exhibitions.
Words by Kellymarie Palfrey.