'Every Other Seat' - Outdoor art exhibition comes to Piccadilly this month

One of the successful applications to the Stoke-on-Trent City Centre's CREATE Fund last month was 'Every Other Seat' by DUST Rising which is an artist led Community Interest Company established in Stoke after five years of highly regarded artistic activity, originating as an exhibition in support of Stoke-on-Trent’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid. Following an application that wowed the judging panel, the BID was able to allocate funding to DUST Rising's outdoor pop-up exhibition which will take place later this September. 

• WHAT: 'Every Other Seat' by DUST Rising
• WHEN: Friday 18th and Saturday 19th September 2020, 12noon - 4pm 
• WHERE: Piccadilly, Stoke-on-Trent City Centre (adjacent to The Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 1AP)

'Every Other Seat' is an outdoor pop-up art exhibition by DUST Rising where the audience is invited to visit Piccadilly, in the heart of The Cultural Quarter in Hanley, to enjoy an unusual spectacle - a compelling two-day open-air exhibition featuring artist-designed seats where, unusually, the seating takes ‘centre stage.’

An enthralling event, 'Every Other Seat' features artwork in the form of artist-commissioned seats. Every other Seat is a playful but serious attempt to explore and highlight the role that the theatre, the arts and creative people have in the regeneration and the development of a thriving city centre, whilst reminding people that artists and performers are crucial to the well being of a city, particularly after an event such as COVID-19.

By reflecting on these extraordinary times, 'Every Other Seat' is a novel concept, borne out of a desire to attribute a theme, pertinent to the thousands of theatre seats that have stood empty and redundant for several months during lock down in the still and silent auditoriums near and far away; where the seats act as a symbolic reminder for the loss of the familiar and vibrant, cultural richness that theatre and art brings to our lives. These will be free standing and displayed along and at the end of Piccadilly. There will also be a performative element during the event that will see artists walking out with the seats gathered close to The Regent Theatre on Friday 18th September, and walking out with the seats from the Regent Theatre on Saturday 19th September at 12 noon. On both days the seats will be walked gradually by artists to collect at the amphitheatre near the end of Piccadilly, where spoken word will be performed, suggesting the need to review what and where we might expect performance and the arts to take place in the future. Workshops will also be delivered to explore the issues involved.

Dust Rising is an artist led Community Interest Company established in Stoke after five years of highly regarded artistic activity. It originated as an exhibition in support of Stoke-on-Trent’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid. This project follows the successful Arts Council funded DR19 exhibition showcased on the Spode Site in September 2019 and will pave the way for a larger related event in the City in 2021.

ARTISTS: Amy L. Davis; James Dudley-Ward; Amy Foster; Paul Gosling; Kornelia Herms; Joyce Iwaszko; Dawn Jutton; Sara Penny; Deborah Rogers; Terry Shave; Peter R. Smith; Daniel Southward; We are Culla; Katrina & Nadine Wilde; Laura J. Wilshaw. Spoken Word Artists: Gabriella Gay & Dawn Jutton.