originalprojects; based at PrimeYarc, former Debenhams, Market Gates Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth

PrimeYarc, Market Gates, Great Yarmouth
open Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, 12-4pm

Exhibitions

Saturday 16 September - Sunday 15 October 2023
Countless Edens
Mark Edwards

Countless Edens is a body of work - made over the course of three years - in the house and garden of the writer Ronald Blythe. Both house and garden were formally the house of Blythe’s close friend, the painter John Nash. Comprising of seventeen colour photographs, including eight interiors, Countless Eden’s draws upon the rich English landscape traditions of both literature and painting.

The interior photographs extend this discourse to allow the viewer to examine the relationship between Nash & Blythe through objects, possessions and personal motifs that also allude to the paintings and writing of both. Viewed as a body of pictures, the photographs contribute to the work of both painter and writer in a response to place & history.

Accompanying the images, there is a sound recording of the garden made by the sound artist, Stewart Bowditch, recorded over the duration of two hours.

Wednesday 27 September - Sunday 8 October 2023
Rest & Digest
Bill Vine, Charlie Ditcham, Gabby de Matteis, Jean Hogg, Lørna Cally, Sue Parr

A presentation of Claire Atherton's Arts Council Funded Project Rest & Digest - a 7-month programme piloting a framework of professional development and wellness support for creative and cultural practitioners who live/work in Great Yarmouth.

Saturday 21 October - Sunday 17 December 2023
Out of the Blue: Landscapes of Chronic Illness
Joanna Holland

Joanna Holland’s first solo exhibition shares her lived experience of chronic illness. It brings together photographs, video, soundscapes and text from different bodies of work created over the last three years.

Saturday 21 October - Sunday 5 November 2023
GYROS 25th Anniversary Exhibition

GYROS  (Great Yarmouth Refugee Outreach & Support) was formed in 1998 to support the refugees and asylum seekers who came to Great Yarmouth during and after the Balkans war. Over the years, their organisation has evolved to meet the changing needs of our local population, supporting migrants and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in the East of England, including those who've come here for work, family reasons or fleeing persecution or dangerous situations in their country of origin. They have been using PrimeYarc weekly for the last 3 years, and this exhibition celebrates their 25th anniversary of working in Great Yarmouth.

Great Yarmouth Contemporary
Art, Craft & Design Fair
Alongside the exhibition programme, originalprojects; has a display of art, craft and design made by people working in and around Great Yarmouth including books, clothes, ceramics, and much more.

​originalprojects; are currently working on Lifting the Horizon - an innovative 18-month Arts Council funded project to An innovative 18-month programme of creative consultation, collaborative programme design, skills development and capacity building, and embedding our work in a national network of peers in priority places. This work includes a programme of artists' talks - please follow their website and social media for updates.

originalprojects; is an artist-led charity who have been working in Great Yarmouth since 2016. They connect contemporary artists with people, communities and place, co-creating objects and experiences, and providing developmental opportunities that build relationships for a durable future.

A major element of their work is the transformation of redundant retail spaces into vital community and cultural hubs which are home to artists' studios, exhibition space and venues for community activity (including PRIMEYARC in a former Debenhams in Market Gates Shopping Centre).

They also produce YARMONICS (an annual festival of sound and new music) in collaboration with Eastern Ear and Finding Emerson (a biennial festival of photography) in collaboration with Utter Nonsense commission public artworks (including one-twelfth, a series of 1:12 scale public works for Merrivale Model Village which are then placed in the public realm), produce podcasts, run workshops, organise conferences exploring the value of creative activity to society and much more.