Close encounters at Wollaton Hall

An exhibition that has been inspired by one of the region’s best listed buildings will be open to the public from next week.

Close Distance is taking place in the Prospect Room at Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire from March 8 – May 2 2017 and will offer visitors a unique experience of an area of the house which is rarely open to the public.

Artists Caroline Broadhead, Nic Sandiland and Angela Woodhouse have taken inspiration from the building’s history and inhabitants for the Close Distance exhibition, exploring details like the 17th century embroidered costumes that belonged to the Middleton family and the Willoughby family who once lived in the hall, and the doors that separated the kitchens and servants’ quarters from the family rooms.

Sandiland and Woodhouse, who have worked together for over 20 years, have worked with image, sound, and movement to create a series of intimate film works that are integrated with Broadhead’s reinvented found objects.

Colette Griffin, Visual Arts and Exhibitions Assistant at Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery, is hoping that the exhibition will be a success. She said: “The Prospect Room was used years ago by the families to oversee their land and it is an incredibly unique space.

The exhibition itself is a combination of film footage of dancers who have been choreographed by Angela Woodhouse. The films will be embedded into objects that have been reimagined by Caroline Broadhead.”

“We are hoping that visitors will learn more about the history of the hall and the previous owners. We also hope that the public will enjoy the art and admire what the artists have created in the space, from dance and music to film.”

To visit Close Distance, you will need to book on to one of the special ‘Talk and View’ events, taking place every Wednesday and Saturday between March 8 and May 2.

Colette thinks that the exhibition is the perfect opportunity to see more areas of the hall. She said“It is quite unusual for us to focus so much on the history of the hall in an exhibition. The exhibition is unique and the hall definitely embraces it.

“The hall is open for the public to look around, but certain rooms are only available to enter during events like this, so it is a great opportunity for people to discover more of the venue.”

There will be the opportunity to meet the artists towards the end of the exhibition.