THE LIGHTS takes it’s title from the shorthand for how the Blackpool Illuminations are referred to locally and the exhibition is timed to coincide with, and contribute to the town’s annual season of light, which has been extended this year.

Over the last five years, Grundy Art Gallery has developed a special interest in artists who use light as a material within their work. In addition to an annual light themed exhibition each autumn, Grundy has also been adding light based art works to it’s collection.

Including neon, moving image, photography, digital drawing and sculpture, THE LIGHTS offers a dynamic showcase for this exciting strand of Grundy’s collection and provides an opportunity to view all of Grundy’s light based art works together for the first time.

The exhibition, which takes places across all ground floor galleries, will include world renowned contemporary artist Tracey Emin; one of the originators of 1960’s Conceptual art, Joseph Kosuth and five new works* which have been brought into the collection this year, by Turner Prize nominees Mark Titchner (2006) and Andrea Büttner (2017); British sculptor and disability rights activist, Tony Heaton OBE; prize-winning film-maker Chris Paul Daniels and emerging artist Amy Ellison.

These new acquisitions join other works from the Grundy Collection by Ian Whittlesea, Noel Clueit, Maeve Rendle, Shigenobu Yoshida and Martin Creed.

THE LIGHTS was initiated by Tom Ireland as part of a curatorial secondment in 2020.

The exhibition will be supported by a remotely delivered programme of engagement activity.

*New Acquisitions have been made possible through support from Art Fund’s New Collecting Award.