Late Night Art Bangor Eco Takeover

Boom Studios - Light Night Art Bangor Eco Takeover

On Thursday 30th July, the Eco Team in Boom Studios hosted the very first Eco Takeover Exhibition and event. The takeover was designed to highlight and celebrate creativity and sustainability in the arts, as part of the monthly Late Night Ar Bangor. The environmentally conscious themed night featured a curated exhibition of artwork, displays, information stalls, eco-friendly wares for sale, demonstrations, drop in workshops, poetry reading and live music.

There had been an open call to allow artists from the studio and beyond to apply to participate in the eco art exhibition in the gallery space, with a lot of the artists exhibiting for the very first time. The gallery boasted an eclectic mix of artwork; some made from natural materials like willow, mud, clay and seaweed, some made with or made using upcycled materials and objects like milk cartons, plastic bags and chicken wire, alongside pieces that highlighted the beauty and fragility of the natural world. On the night, there was some beautiful poetry read by an exhibiting artist in the gallery, telling the story of her pieces and her connection to nature.

As well as the main gallery, there were displays throughout the building and along the staircase, including naturally dyed macrame pieces, dried flower wreathes, sculptures made from plastic waste from nearby beaches and displays from Eco Art workshops, including egg tempera paintings and Hapa Zome natural printing.

In the office and workshop spaces, we had stalls from different environmental and arts organisations, including Green Arts NI, Greenpeace Belfast, Live Here Love Here, North Down Swift Conservation Group, What the Sea Saw and AND Council Recycling team. We hosted stall holders with eco-friendly wares, including artwork made from construction waste, upcycled clothing, recycled textile waste and natural cleaning products.

On top of the poetry reading, live entertainment included an amazing musician outside welcoming guests, a free outdoor music making workshop using found and recycled objects, chicken wire sculpting and willow basket making demonstrations.

There were free plant clippings for visitors to take home and plant and we even got a visit from Environment Minister Andrew Muir.

There was a real buzz about the place, with lots of great conversations happening. The Eco Team had put in a huge amount of effort into the months of planning, organising and coordinating of the event, and it was amazing to see it all pay off and for the event to be so well attended. The Boom studios Eco team was formed and led by artist ‘The Dirty Painter’ in January this year, with the idea of an event to showcase environmentally conscious artwork and practices following soon after.

With beautiful artwork, fabulous stalls and inspiring chats the night was a huge success, and the Eco Team look forward to planning for next year!