Creative Kernow, based at Krowji, is the umbrella organisation for the following nine projects. Together we support the production, promotion and distribution of work by creative practitioners in Cornwall because we believe in creativity's transformative power and want more people to benefit from it.
Creative Kernow
FEAST, making great art happen across Cornwall

Extraordinary Postcards for Extraordinary Times

 
 
 

Development Manager Tasmin Young shares news about Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange’s FEAST funded project Extraordinary Postcards for Extraordinary Times.

The project was initiated at the beginning of the lockdown as a way of keeping in touch with our audience, particularly those feeling isolated, when they couldn’t come in an see us in person. An initial print run of 3,000 postcards in packs of three, plus a Freepost envelope, went out with an invitation to represent personal lockdown experiences in any medium that would go on a Postcard, to be included in a gallery exhibition in the Autumn.

We realised it was an ideal opportunity to make new friends and reconnect with groups we had worked with in the past and, with FEAST’s help, we reprinted another 3,000 postcards. FEAST draw from the partnership pot they have with Cornwall Community Foundation to fund this project.

This run went out to groups including schools in lockdown, the Penzance foodbank, St Petroc’s Homeless Charity, Whole Again Communities in Treneere, residential care locations, WILD Young Parents’ group, Shallal, Intercomm Trust serving young LGBTQIA+ people, Rio Gamechanger artists, art student groups, older peoples’ groups including our own Tea, Cake & Art, Cornwall Library Service including the Mobile Library, and groups, informal and formal, of people using art to enable wellbeing.

We also had requests from far flung places: China, Hong Kong, New York, Vermont, Norway, Malta, Gibralta, Singapore, all over Europe, the UK and of course Cornwall (67% of packs were sent to Cornish (TR) postcodes). 33% of packs to households in the top 10% most deprived neighbourhoods (IMD 2019), 38% in the top 20%.

The Extraordinary Postcards for Extraordinary Times exhibition is now open at Newlyn Gallery until 2nd January 2021, as well as a digital exhibition here.


For more than 125 years, Newlyn Art Gallery has been bringing the best in contemporary art to audiences in the south west. Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange offers a wide and varied exhibition programme across our two sites, presenting contemporary work in all media by regional, national and international artists, with a supporting programme of events.

Find out more at newlynartgallery.co.uk