Joy Yamusangie, 'Feeling Good': Weekend Bookings

NOW Gallery announces the 2022 Young Artist Commission Feeling Good by Joy Yamusangie. The Young Artist commission, now in its 4th year, is awarded to outstanding rising talents in the fields of visual arts and illustration. Free to view from 24 March – 5 June 2022, Yamusangie invites the viewer to interrogate constructs around identity and celebrate self-expression. The artist conjures up the stylish Feeling Good Jazz club, creating a series of intimate and evocative spaces to inhabit NOW Gallery and immerse the viewer.

The exhibition’s physical space is deliberately contextualised by an accompanying jazz score, revealing deeply personal narratives.

Yamusangie’s coveted works use textural materials to convey a sophisticated and multifarious style which features illustration, collage, painting, and sculptural interventions. Their work often features expressive mark making and the use of deliberate, flat vivid blocks of colour to create figurative renderings.

“This imaginary club became a vision for me, a space that symbolised gender euphoria and speaks specifically to my own experience with understanding and celebrating my trans identity and my journey with learning music. I was inspired by the main character in the book Trumpet by Jackie Kay which I later learnt was based on the real life story of musician Billy Tipton. Thinking of how music, specifically Jazz, allowed both the fictional character and the real musician Billy to find a home for themselves.” Joy Yamusangie

“The appeal of this exhibition is the subtle dialogue between Joy’s artworks, jazz notes and the vivid, fictional spaces these elements inhabit. The work beautifully chronicles the artist’s personal journey, whilst creating truly emotive spaces that will resonate broadly.” NOW Gallery Curator Kaia Charles

Please ensure that you have downloaded the NHS Covid-19 App before your visit.

Staying Safe During Your Visit:

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we've introduced additional safety measures to keep both visitors and staff safe. We operate a Covid Secure and ask that you familiarise yourself with the below guidelines before you arrive:

● If you are travelling via public transport, ensure that you wear a face mask on the journey, keep your distance from others and where possible avoid peak transport times.

● We've introduced screens, installed hand sanitisers, increased cleaning regimes and decreased touchpoints. Please ensure your hands are cleaned upon arrival, we will ask you to sanitise upon entry and exit.

● Our gallery staff will be wearing a face covering and we ask that all visitors wear one too (unless exempt) when inside the space to help keep everyone safe.

● Before making your journey to the galley please make sure that you have not been requested to self-isolate and that you do not have any of the following; a high temperature; a new continuous cough; a loss, or change to, your sense of smell or taste. If you do have any of those symptoms do not travel and contact NHS Direct.

● In the event that you start to feel ill on site please keep your face covering on, maintain social distancing and notify a member of gallery staff who will take you outside and advise how to proceed.

We will brief all visitors on our COVID-19 protocols upon arrival and are really looking forward to welcoming you back to NOW Gallery.