Hartlepool is set to be in the national spotlight again as artworks from Hartlepool Borough Council’s collection head to London to form the centre of a prestigious national exhibition.
In a further major accolade for the town, 23 artworks are being lent to leading cultural venue Two Temple Place on Victoria Embankment for The Weight of Being: Vulnerability, Resilience and Mental Health in Art.
Running from 24 January to 19 April, and curated by Hartlepool Borough Council’s Senior Art and Museum Curator Angela Thomas, the exhibition will dive deep into mental health and the human condition, considering the relationship between the personal pressures on the individual and the universal challenges faced by humanity as a whole.
It builds on the work already done by the Art Gallery in collaboration with Hartlepool charity Andy’s Man Club on the connection between art and mental health.
Among the artworks being lent by the Council are 18 by Belfast-born John Wilson McCracken (1936-1982).
Denied the opportunity to return to the Slade School of Art following a period in hospital for mental health reasons, John Wilson McCracken spent much of his career in Hartlepool, teaching at West Hartlepool College of Art, curating at the Gray Art Gallery and Museum and being instrumental in bringing major exhibitions to the town, including Lucien Freud’s first solo show outside London.
His work reflects a profound sensitivity to the emotional and social pressures of his time and, alongside dozens of artworks drawn from galleries and collections across the UK, his portraits, landscapes and figurative studies will provide a connecting thread for the exhibition’s themes.
By placing his work alongside that of his contemporaries, The Weight of Being will explore the ways artists depict and process trauma, identity and resilience, offering an intimate reflection on the meeting of mental health and artistic expression.
Other artworks being lent by Hartlepool Borough Council include two images by photographer John Bulmer plus paintings by Hartlepool-born artists Margaret Green and Peter Knox.
Councillor Karen Oliver (left) and Angela Thomas pictured with John Wilson McCracken’s painting ‘The Chair’ together with other artworks already packed for shipping to Two Temple Place for the exhibition
Councillor Karen Oliver, Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Housing, Growth and Communities Committee, said: “We are thrilled to be involved in this partnership with Two Temple Place, both in terms of further raising Hartlepool’s profile on the national cultural map and promoting greater awareness of mental health.
“Following the outstanding success of several major cultural events in Hartlepool, including the British Museum touring exhibition in 2024 and the Lionel Tertis international viola concerts, we very much hope this exhibition will spark further exciting collaborations with major cultural institutions.”
Paddy Altern, Director of Two Temple Place and its parent charity The Bulldog Trust, added: “It has been an enormous pleasure for us to work with Angela Thomas and to have the extensive loans from the Hartlepool Borough Council collection in the exhibition.
“As well as focussing on social issues such as mental health, it is one of our charity’s core purposes to partner with and showcase public art collections from outside London.”
To find out more about the exhibition visit twotempleplace.org.