KALEIDOSCOPIC REALMS REVIEW | DISABILITY ARTS ONLINE

Freelance journalist Mark Sheerin was commissioned by Disability Arts Online to write a review of Kaleidoscopic Realms - an exhibition at Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery until 3 November 2024. This exhibition features eight learning disabled and neurodivergent artists all with diverse art forms, travelling different paths to firmly ground themselves in their art practices. Sheerin says, “‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’ conveys the fact that the eight artists on display are professionals. They sell work, take up awards, and give solo shows which are as affecting, warm, comic and, occasionally, breathtaking as you might wish for. There is no unifying style however; and it is colour that has been drawn out as the quality which unites painting, embroidery, sculpture, ceramics and badge-making in this pleasing show.”

He goes on to say, “While the impulse to create remains obscure, in Nottingham I came away with a much clearer idea of the artistry of those exhibiting and the challenges they have faced. Nine looped accompanying films featured all eight artists, with input from interlocutors, collaborators, curators and studio managers. The work was accompanied by audio commentary, large print notes, and infographic interpretation, the latter on eight easy-to-wield detachable boards. Angling the monitors and the seats they also made space for wheelchair-users.

In this way, the exhibition is super accessible. Yet the motives, the impulse, the creative spark on show remains, for the most part, inscrutable. This is a tension which makes ‘Kaleidoscopic Realms’ hard to resist.”