The Art House Wakefield 2022

Our latest residency centres on Permindar Kaur’s forthcoming exhibition at The Art House Wakefield, 3 September – 13 November 2022. Uthra Rajgopal has been selected as writer in residence from an open call, who will work with mentor Annalisa Toccara and the Corridor8 team to develop her writing in response to Kaur’s practice and themes of home and belonging. The final piece of writing will be published to coincide with Artwalk Wakefield on 28 September.

A black and white photo of three women standing together on an outdoor terrace.
Uthra Rajgopal, Permindar Kaur and Annalisa Toccara (left to right) at The Art House, July 2022. Photo: Emily Ryalls.

Uthra Rajgopal is an Independent Curator with a specialist interest in South Asian contemporary art and textiles. She works with artists from the subcontinent and the Diaspora, exploring issues around home, identity, migration and displacement. Rajgopal is Associate Curator for the British Textile Biennial 2023; Curator of Voices at The Portico, Manchester (August 2022); Consultant Curator of Cotton: labour, land and the body at the Crafts Council Gallery, London (Sept 2022 – March 2023); and Contributing Writer for Bloomsbury World Encyclopaedia of Textiles (forthcoming).

A windowed exhibition space with sculptures of black beams forming the outline of a house, with spikes on the outside of the beams
Permindar Kaur, Installation view of HOME exhibition at 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Photo Thierry Bal, courtesy of the artist.

Permindar Kaur is a sculpture/ installation artist, whose approach to art is playful, using childlike objects to explore the territory of cultural identity, home and belonging. She uses simple forms, for instance furniture (beds, cots and chairs) and toys (soft, brightly coloured figures, trucks and animal forms). These objects resemble displaced domestic belongings, which have been distorted and manipulated to invoke the uncanny.

Annalisa Toccara is an award-winning cultural producer, communications and marketing consultant and writer. With a degree in Theology and a MA in International Public and Political Communication. Annalisa is due to start a PhD in Journalism Studies at The University of Sheffield in 2022 and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. In 2016, Annalisa founded a leading social enterprise, Our Mel, dedicated to exploring cultural identity, Black history and heritage.

About The Art House

The Art House provides time, space and support for artists, makers and creative businesses to develop their practice. It is a place where artists and audiences of all kinds are welcome to experience contemporary visual art and learn about the practice of being an artist through a year-round programme of exhibitions and events. Established in 1994 by a group of disabled and non-disabled artists, The Art House is both a visual arts development agency and registered charity.

Alongside a programme of training, mentoring, residencies and commissions, The Art House develops a range of projects designed to engage audiences in the artistic process and contribute to an essential discourse around diversity in contemporary visual arts practice.

The Art House is an NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) with Arts Council England.