Testimony

EXHIBITION

We are delighted to present Testimony, a mixed-media exhibition by award-winning artist Lesley Cherry. Testimony serves as a visual response to a series of truths, stories and memories shared by groups of women who collaborated with Cherry throughout 2022 and 2023.

Using paper doilies, found objects, text and knitting, the work references the women’s stories of loss, betrayal, fear, memories, and triumph. Despite the often serious issues being addressed, Cherry brings a sense of kitchness and humour to the work.

Alongside the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to explore complementary items, reading materials, and objects from The Linen Hall archives.

Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland through 2022/23 SIAP programme.

5 April – 26 April | Vertical Gallery | Free

About Lesley Cherry

Lesley Cherry studied at the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University, gaining her BA Hons in Fine & Applied Art and graduated from the Master of Fine Art course in 2011. She received the ARCH Development Residency, Washington DC, in 2012 and the Arts Council NI Artists Enhancement Award in 2013/14. She has been awarded several SIAP awards from the CAN, most recently in 22/23, and was an invited artist at Erno Tolvaly Residency, Hungary, in August 2014. Her work has been shown widely throughout Ireland including The Golden Thread Galley, Belfast, VOID Derry, Artslink Buncrana, Kilkenny Arts Centre and the SKART Art Trail, Cork and Sligo Art Centre. She was part of the Melbourne/Belfast exhibition We Us Them, at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, and Belfast Exposed in 2019 as well as exhibiting at the Scope Art Fair, New York, Zaa Gallery, Berlin, Füle Cultural Centre, Hungary, Luminate Festival, Washington DC and the Royal Ulster Academy Exhibitions, amongst others.

Cherry is an experienced socially engaged artist, working extensively with contentious community groups, older people, and looked after children and young adults, throughout Northern Ireland. She managed the North Down Borough Councils Art of Regeneration Project from 2005-2009 and has contributed as an artist and strategist for Draw Down The Walls which used art as a catalyst to address issues of removing and discussing interface and peace walls within Belfast, as well as leading on several ACNI, Housing Executive and Belfast City Council Re-Imaging and public art programmes.

She was invited to the Engage Summer School, Padua, Italy and the Visual Artist Ireland Get Together, Dublin to speak about her socially engaged practice, in a post conflict society. She has managed several ACNI Arts and Older Peoples Projects throughout the country and was New Lodge Artist in Residence in 2017/18. She was commissioned to create new public artworks and interface gates for the Woodvale area by the NI Housing Executive in 2017, which were in launched 2019.

Cherry is currently community arts consultant for the Translink redevelopment of York Street Station, in partnership with the Golden Thread Gallery and Community Engagement Lead for Groundwork NI. She is a member off Flax Artists’ Studios, Belfast.