Introduction Nationally significant work, relevant to our local community and the environment of Portsmouth as a waterfront city, has characterised our artistic programme this year. We celebrated the creative journey of Portsmouth born artist Clarke Reynolds, who used braille to tell his personal story through the creation of an ambitious sensory installation. We explored the impact climate change and human behaviour is having on our unique local ecologies with Jessica Wetherly. While filmmaker Vicky Smith was commissioned to make a collaborative work with children and young people in Portsmouth, about sea plastics, for the city’s cultural festivals, Victorious and We Shine. Collaborations and partnerships remain critical to our work, with the Enabling XR Enterprise (eXRe) project with the University of Portsmouth’s CCIXR, resulting in the commission of an innovative moving image work by Karanjit Panesar, inspired by Southsea’s Clarence Pier and the stories of local people. We were able to test out new ways of working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers with Portsmouth City of Sanctuary, supported by the Portsmouth Partnership Foundation, and developed new connections through the Portsmouth Cultural Education Partnership. This year also saw our first collaboration with the Arts Council Collection, enabling the gallery to show CAPSID, the first time we have borrowed work from a national collection, which led to an important connection with the artist John Walter, a performance, talk and development of a new resource increasing awareness and understanding of HIV. Diversity of artists and audiences, creative engagement of people of all ages, and support for emerging local artists continued to be prioritised. And while the year was stretching for the small team, with significant staff turnover and a challenging economic climate, we are extremely proud of what has been achieved by our staff, volunteers and Trustees, who have worked collaboratively to deliver an incredible amount of impactful work with limited resources.
Dr Dawn Langley Chair of Aspex Visual Arts Trust
Joanne Bushnell, Director of Aspex Portsmouth
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