What's new at the New Art Exchange

The New Art Exchange is the largest art centre in the UK dedicated to culturally diverse arts. Entry to exhibitions and events is FREE, making it the perfect day out for the whole family, no matter your budget. They are located in Hyson Green, next to The Forest tram stop, and less than ten minutes from the city centre, so it is extremely easy to get to!

They also have a wonderful CafeBar, which is 100% plant based. Serving a varied menu including the likes of tikka daal, milkshakes, chips and cauliflower bites, there is something for even the pickiest eater. They are also running a 'Pay What You Can' scheme in their CafeBar from 5-7pm on 17th November and 15th December, where you can ejoy a delicious two-course, plant-based meal.

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Billy Dosanjh (Traveller, Your Footprints) at New Art Exchange

Friday 23rd September 2022 – Saturday 7th January 2023

Billy Dosanjh is an artist, filmmaker and storyteller whose practice pays tribute to every displaced person. His new, solo exhibition [Traveller, Your Footprints] can be found at New Art Exchange until Saturday 7th January 2023. We were lucky enough to get a preview, and this honest, moving and dynamic exhibition is definitely a must-see.

Born and raised in the Black Country area of the West Midlands, Dosanjh has built a body of work that explores the lives of South Asian empire workers who arrived in this blue-collar region in the last throes of its industrial might. Drawn from his lived experience and the stories recounted by his family and community, Dosanjh’s work documents and poetically interprets the incredible journeys of these marginalised individuals and the generations that followed them. In doing so, Dosanjh brings to the fore an important yet missing visual vernacular of a people and place.

The exhibition begins with Dosanjh’s seminal film, Year Zero: Black Country (2014), which transports the viewer to the 1960s as thousands of economic migrants from the former colonies travel to the industrial heartlands of England in search of jobs, fortune, and a new life. Comprised of archive materials and filmed scenes, Year Zero captures the psychology and sensations of this epic upheaval. Through the film, local anecdotes, characters and stories emerge.

Dosanjh expands upon through the photo series, Exiles (2019 – 2022). These large-scale photographs appear as digitally manipulated images of miniature villages or maquettes, when in fact they are created by a laborious process involving sets, a cast of actors, costumes and theatrical lighting. Through the intriguing and uncanny, freeze-frame quality of Exiles, Dosanjh cleverly draws the viewers’ attention to a distinct context and character, presses ‘pause’ and invites you to peer into the protagonist’s soul.

Traversing through time, Dosanjh’s focus shifts to the next generation, in the newly commissioned film, Indi (2022). Set in the 1990’s Indi charts the world of emigre mother, Sheeru, and her British born, teenage son, Indi, who dreams of playing football for England. The work questions how life choices are shaped by your environment, and addresses the complexities of living across opposing cultures, traditions and identities.

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Communities in Motion at New Art Exchange

Friday 23rd September 2022 – Saturday 7th January 2023

You will find the Street Gallery showing Communities In Motion outside the NAE. This exhibition was curated by Lisa Robinson with local photographer Tom Morley. It presents a series of photographs of local Black centres that connect to the history of past, present and future of Black activism in Nottingham. The exhibition questions: is there a need for a physical Black centre of activism in the city?

Centres such as the Afro-Caribbean National Artistic (ACNA) centre or the formerly joint centres of APNA Arts and EMACA which gave birth to the current NAE building are captured. Contemplating the architecture and life of these buildings is an invitation for all to add to our personal and collective stories. As a community organiser, Lisa Robinson was keen for the exhibition to reflect on the collective ways she works with people, as well as being inspired by the recent collaborative project 4UBU at NAE (June-August 2021), a Black-led informal space that focused on Black life and joys.

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This blog was written by NAE and Katherine Taylor, Marketing Executive at Visit Nottinghamshire.