Every year the Grundy invites local Schoolchildren from across Blackpool and the Fylde coast to make new artworks for display in the gallery. This year, children from Hawes Side Academy and Woodlands School in Blackpool have worked with the Grundy’s Learning and Engagement Officer to create their own interpretation of a football club shirt.
Taking inspiration from football themed artworks that they saw on their visit to the New Contemporaries exhibition at the Grundy in autumn 2023, children have used colour, symbols and patterns to express their individuality.
From favourite people and pets to favourite foods and films, these energetic and joyful designs colourfully communicate things that matter to these young creatives.
To accompany SQUAD GOALS, the Grundy is also showing the sculpture, The Game, (Part II), by Joe Fletcher Orr from the Grundy Art Gallery Collection. The artist made this work in 2015 for a group exhibition called Modern History. The artwork uses a shop bought football as a canvas, onto which the artist then invited all of his fellow exhibitors to place their signature. Joe Fletcher Orr is a regionally based artist with an international profile. He uses wit and humour to ask questions about what contemporary art is, and what it can be.
COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT is an ongoing series of displays that highlight specific works from the Grundy’s collection or explore particular artforms and themes.