Voicing Visions - Eighty Leading Norwich Artists and Poets Combine

Norwich Twenty Group’s (N20G) spring exhibition, Voicing Visions, Artists and Poets Collaborate, is a unique and ambitious fusion of Norfolk art and poetry. The exhibition at St Margaret’s Church, St Benedicts Street, Norwich runs from Monday, May 11 to Saturday, May 23, 10am to 6pm daily, free admission.

More than 40 N20G members – painters, sculptors and print makers – have been twinned with local poets, who have written poems inspired by the works of art. Nearly 100 collaborations will be on display at St Margaret’s.

N20G is publishing an accompanying Voicing Visions book, featuring photographs of the artists’ work set alongside their ‘twins’’ poems. The book includes a DVD of the poems read by the poets. The DVD shows an image of each accompanying painting, sculpture or print, as the viewer listens to the poetry on their computer.

The recorded poetry will also be put on MP3 players, to give visitors to the exhibition the option of listening to the poetry as they contemplate the art.

David Holgate, Chairman N20G said: "Voicing Visions is a joyous celebration of the arts. It is very exciting to see another artist’s response to your work. My ‘twin’, Bill Jervis wrote
The Hand, after seeing my sculpture of Mother Julian of Norwich. Bill’s evocative and thoughtful poem reflects on the transience of life and the eternal nature of sculpture."

The piece will endure, linger long time
Connecting our living to eternity

from The Hand, Bill Jervis

"I would like to thank Norwich New Writing Partnership and University of East Anglia, Creative Writing course for their help in securing poetry ‘twins’ for our artists, " added David Holgate. "I would also like to thank the artists and poets for their enthusiasm in bringing this fabulous series of collaborations to life."

David Holgate’s sculpture of Mother Julian (photograph shown) is set in a niche on the west front of Norwich Cathedral. The niche had been empty for 600 years, until he was commissioned to carve Mother Julian as a Millennium project.