Using spoken word, music, and paintings, ‘Skylarking’ by Ashley Holmes presents the link between the landscapes of the Peak District and what that can mean for people from different backgrounds.
Taking place in Sheffield City Centre, from the 22nd of February to the 18th of May, the exhibition is a gallery of different forms of media to make the audience question how they look at race, class and gender.
The exhibition uses speakers to amplify the minds of multiple black creatives, aiming to immerse the audience into the world of the Peak District.
Charlotte Smith, 24, a volunteer at the exhibition, said: “I think it links many societal topics together and focuses on what the art means for each person in Sheffield, relating to what the Peak District could mean for them.”
Ashley and his team ventured into the caves of the Peak District and played music to show the relationship between them and Sheffield’s mining and industrial history. They explored how that plays into the current state of the working class in Sheffield.
Ashley presented his own personal collection of vinyl records of mainly black musicians from the 20th century that relates to his work and the exhibition. In particular, Ashley was interested in dub or blues artists to show their relationships to relaxation and nature.
“Ashley shows a link between the Peak District and his own views on blackness, the diaspora surrounding that, and the relationship between black people in Sheffield and that landscape.”
There will be workshops surrounding the exhibition on the 9th of March and the 6th of April.
