Projects & Exhibitions Archives

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Art Gene, Bath Street, Barrow-in-Furness,

Cumbria, LA14 5TY England, UK

Low Carbon Barrow Grants & Events

Low Carbon Barrow grants is a European-funded support programme to help small- and medium-sized businesses and charities improve their energy efficiency and environmental performance. The programme is now closed to new applications. The deadline for fully worked up proposals was 9 December 2022. Open for… Read more

Digital U

Digital U is an online exhibition space for artists that started in 2017. Each year, Art Gene works with a Digital Artist-Curator to show a new programme of work from a group of international, national, and local artists.… Read more

Remote Exhibitions

Gallery Exhibitions

Re:discover Barrow’s Lost Shops

Re:discover Barrow’s Lost Shops is a 4 year programme of cultural events centred on one historic high street. Pass & Co, 1907, Duke Street, Barrow-in-Furness. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Foote Lost Shops Barrow’s historically important high street will be celebrated and revitalised through a… Read more

Re:discover Barrow – An Armchair Walk

Re:discover Barrow is a project exploring the past, present and future of Duke Street Heritage Action Zone, Barrow-in-Furness. Above: Duke Street Heritage Action Zone, courtesy of Barrow Archives and Local Studies Centre Re:discover Barrow – An Armchair Walk Re:discover Barrow – An Armchair Walk is… Read more

Extreme Views: Armchair Walks

Join architects, artists, naturalists, and landscape designers on a tour through Barrow-in-Furness, from the comfort of your own home. Above: aerial view of Lesh Lane green space for Armchair Walks Season 1, filmed by Colin Aldred, Aerial Artwork. Extreme Views: Armchair Walks Part of… Read more

Allotment Soup

A long term Art Gene Project, led by Art Gene Artists/Directors Maddi Nicholson and Stuart Bastik with Artist in Residence Hannah Brackston and Ecological Designer Vincent Walsh, developing a community growing space on an acre of scrubland on the Island of Walney. Above: Allotment Soup… Read more

Landscape Working Party

Exploring, re-invigorating and enhancing the local green spaces around the islands and bays of Barrow and Furness. Top image: Preparing for a Mass Mini Beast Hunt: Eve Mulholland with a local Beaver group, 2018. Photo credit: Maddi Nicholson Landscape Working Party Landscape Working Party … Read more

Coastal Communities Team

About This newly established team will be responsible for channelling funding from the nation-wide Coastal Communities Fund, to best meet the unique geographic, social and environmental needs of this area. Barrow-in-Furness is Exceptional. Barrow comes top of all 325 English boroughs for the quality of… Read more

Fort Walney, Uncovered

Uniting artists, archaeologists and the community to explore, survey, excavate, record and celebrate the rare practice trenches, now buried on North Walney National Nature Reserve, where soldiers, cadets and airmen trained for WW1 and WW2. Top image: Fort Walney Turf Cake (detail), project launch,… Read more

CLIMAVORE – March 2018

A unique dining experience… Art Gene are collaborating with The Delfinia Foundation, London and Cooking Sections. For their first project in Barrow, Cooking Sections will be inviting a diverse group of local stakeholders to attend their CLIMAVORE performance dinner (March). Top Image: CLIMAVORE, oyster tables,… Read more

Art Gene on South Walney

Following support from Arts Council England and WREN, Cumbria Wildlife Trust commissioned Art Gene to produce a detailed and researched Masterplan around the future of the South Walney Reserve, and design two bespoke hides to be permanently sited within the South Walney Nature Reserve. Image… Read more

Tracks of the Iron Masters

In 2015, Sustrans commissioned Art Gene to develop a prototype project to showcase ways of building community relations, for inclusion within a HLF grant application. Tracks of the Iron Masters Sustrans approached Art Gene after an initial Heritage Lottery Funding bid for upgrading 18 miles… Read more

Barrow-by-Design

The initial concept for Barrow-by-Design was developed over a five year period by Art Gene, gradually taking shape out of our collaborative research residencies with artists and architects and ongoing conversations with Borough Council officers. Top image: Piel Castle on Piel Island, one of the… Read more

Barrow-by-Design: Ramsden Business Park

Art Gene Associates worked collaboratively with Barrow Borough Council and their appointed architects (Capita Symonds) on the first Barrow-by-Design pilot project: a new 6500sqM Coastal Business Park in Barrow-in-Furness. Art Gene Associates worked collaboratively with Barrow Borough Council and their appointed architects (Capita Symonds) on… Read more

Barrow-by-Design: Shop Fronts

This Barrow-by-Design pilot project saw Art Gene Associates work collaboratively with Barrow Borough Council to produce low cost shop front upgrades through a grant scheme for small traders. Most of the individual grants awarded were for around £2000. Top image: Maddi Nicholson preparing the final… Read more

Roker Pods

The Roker Pods, constructed by Millimetre, Brighton grew out of a response to the unique natural and industrial heritage of Roker, Sunderland and it’s coastline’s cannonball rock formations. Top image: The Roker Pods, designed by Nicholson Bastik (Art Gene) being constructed by Millimetre, Brighton Roker… Read more

How to re-vision Utopia?

We were invited in a way to be experts at being ourselves. The Charrette created a very particular environment which gave us permission to dream, to challenge and encourage each other. How can we now create an environment that will help Barrow be expert at… Read more

Urban Retreat

Urban Retreat: Curated by Sophie Mellor Following a successful and interesting artist-curator residency at Art Gene in 2008 we wanted to develop our collaboration with Sophie Mellor. This led to her proposing a series of potential projects which eventually evolved into Urban Retreat. Urban Retreat: … Read more

Ormsgill Outdoors

In 2005, Maddi began a commission to work for Creative Partnerships Cumbria as Lead Artist at Ormsgill Primary School in Barrow-in-Furness and led the school as a ‘Creative Agent’ through to completion in 2010. Working as a creative consultant, she diagnosed and uncovered issues, developed… Read more

Kid Pod: Outdoor Classroom

Kid Pod: Outdoor Classroom Kid Pod featured, facilities for independent and group learning with water play, wet and dry sand pits, plant and food growing areas. The main features were crawl tubes with slides, positioned over a planted perimeter wall punctuated by spherical dens. A… Read more

Seminars

With its meeting rooms, gallery spaces and other specialist spaces available to hire, Art Gene regularly provides a venue for touring events/music festivals/film screenings/employment fairs. Over the years we have also hosted our own programme of seminars to accompany events and exhibitions or to inform… Read more

A Little Bit of What You Fancy Does You Good

‘A little bit of what you fancy does you good’… An installation created by artists Stuart Bastik and Maddi Nicholson commissioned for the launch of the European Capital of Culture: Liverpool ’08. ‘A little bit of what you fancy does you good’… Art Gene were… Read more

U-Hang

U-Hang artist Tracey Eastham with gallery assistant Daryl Pugh. Photo: Ruth Pringle About U-Hang Art Gene’s U-Hang Exhibition Programme ran from 2004 -2016, and was an opportunity for artists to experiment with new concepts, test theories or develop their practice in other new ways. This… Read more

Art Gene

Bath Street,

Barrow-in-Furness,

Cumbria, LA14 5TY England, UK

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