Touring Chernobyl art exhibition heading to Hartlepool

The exhibition, titled ‘30 Years On – Chernobyl Exposed’, opens on Friday 8 September at a preview event from 4.30pm until 8pm, and will include numerous works of art from the 26:86 Collective, a group of exhibiting artists named after the day and year of the disaster.

The multi-disciplinary exhibition will run until Saturday 11 November and will feature various photographs, installations and graphic art work, inspired by the 26:86 Collective’s recent trip to Chernobyl, Ukraine.

Each piece of work is a personal response from each artist who visited the area, and the group hope to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the use of nuclear energy.

Claire A Baker, a lecturer at Cleveland College of Art and Design in Hartlepool and leader of the project, said: “The purpose of the exhibition is to try and raise awareness of the effects of Chernobyl and issues that are still really relevant.

“The UK has more stored chemical waste than anywhere else in the world - how we act now has possible detrimental effects on the next generation and we want to make people really stop and think.

“The tour has had a fantastic response so far and it will make a fascinating and thought-provoking visit for the people of Hartlepool.”

Hartlepool Art Gallery is located in Church Square and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. For further information, call (01429) 869706 or visit www.hartlepoolartgallery.co.uk.