Three Decades of Being In The Moment
This April the Henry Moore Institute is celebrating 30 years since it opened. They are marking the occasion with a new display in their library, A Site for Sculpture: Building the Institute, exploring the history of the building, a creative competition inviting you to reimagine the building and sharing memories from the last three decades.
The creative competition invites anyone to reimagine the building as part of the Institute’s engagement programme and is a fantastic opportunity for budding artists and designers to showcase their talents and vision. Pick up a card at the Institute and draw, paint, stick, or print to show how you would redesign the iconic black granite façade of the building if you had the chance. There are prizes for different age groups, 11 years and under / 12–17 years / 18+.
The competition is open until 18 June 2023 and three winners from each age category will win Fred Aldous vouchers to spend on art materials.
All entrants receive a special Fred Aldous discount code so that’s a great reason to channel your inner sculptural architect and get creative!
While you’re unlikely to see the work of their founder Henry Moore at the Institute, they have shown the work of over 730 artists from around the world in 224 free historical, modern and contemporary sculpture exhibitions over the thirty years they’ve been open. There are currently two solo exhibitions on display, in the main galleries American artist Michael E. Smith has created an atmospheric exhibition of sculpture made from found objects and subtle interventions to the galleries' environment. In the smaller gallery space Rebecca Fortnum: Les Praticiennes presents a series of paintings of little-known portrait sculptures produced by women who were associated with Rodin’s studio.
Coming up in the summer is The Weight of Words, an exhibition, and series of events featuring artists, writers and poets, which will explore sculpture and poetry.
No visit to the Institute is complete without popping upstairs to the first floor where you’ll find one of the world's leading dedicated sculpture libraries. Their Sculpture Research Library offers inspiration in over 30,000 art books, journals and ephemera in beautiful reading rooms. The library also houses Leeds City Council’s Archive of Sculptors’ Papers, which captures the working lives of hundreds of sculptors in rich and fascinating collections of photographs, letters, drawings and sketchbooks available for anyone to see by appointment.
Finally, sharing memories from the last 30 years is a great way to reflect on the Institute’s impact on Leeds and the world of sculpture. So many people have had unique experiences at the Institute, favorite exhibitions and events or memories of discovering sculptures and artists in the library.
You can share your memories by emailing press@henry-moore.org or tagging @henrymooreinstitute on Facebook or Instagram or @HMILeeds on Twitter.
So let’s doff our party hats in celebration of Leeds’ very own Henry Moore Institute and join the artists, art historians, cultural institutions and visitors sharing their memories on Friday 21April 2023, 30 years exactly since the Institute opened its doors.