PLYMOUTH.- This September Plymouth hosts the third Plymouth Art Weekender, the UK’s biggest art weekender, and launch a new international arts project, We The People Are The Work. The events, implemented by Horizon, a collaborative two-year programme of visual contemporary arts across the city, include a series of diverse exhibitions, performances and workshops, which will strengthen and build upon the city’s dynamic arts scene.

We The People Are The Work (22 Sept–18 Nov 2017), curated by Simon Morrissey, Director of Foreground, explores ideas of power, protest and the public. Six internationally-acclaimed artists from the UK, Canada, France and Mexico worked closely with local residents to create new artworks inspired by Plymouth’s rich heritage, its people, and their aspirations for the future, to be displayed in galleries across the city.

Antonio Vega Macotela and Eduardo Thomas’s newly commissioned film is being housed in Peninsula Arts at Plymouth University, the largest contemporary art gallery in Plymouth. The artwork explores notions of representation, identity and visibility by focusing on local residents who appeared as extras in Tim Burton’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland, parts of which were shot in Plymouth. Matt Stokes’ work is on show in The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art – an independent specialist art college established in 1856. Stokes has similarly worked with Plymouth residents to produce a multi-screen film, which poignantly explores punk’s legacy of protest and resistance, whilst charting the decline of live music venues in the city.

Printmaker Ciara Phillips’ installation is a production space, occupying multiple galleries and social areas at Plymouth Arts Centre, which celebrates its 70th year in 2017. Phillips will work collaboratively with groups of women from the city to produce printed textiles that voice their societal concerns. Peter Liversidge’s installation, housed in The Council House, has been made up of a series of placards representing ideas from diverse individuals in the city, giving significance to voices who often go unheard. The signs will be distributed around the city by the public, and include a ritual bonfire burning on the Hoe (5 November) led by Plymouth school children. Liversidge’s work will be accompanied by a new temporary public artwork on the flagpoles on the Hoe throughout October and November.

The feminist arts collective Claire Fontaine produces a series of illuminated text works to be displayed throughout KARST, Plymouth’s largest independent contemporary art venue. These new works, taken from recent political debates and contentious issues, tackle questions of morality, agency and freedom of speech calling on the viewer to take a stance.

Plymouth Art Weekender (22–24 Sept 2017) presents two new works commissioned by Visual Arts Plymouth and continue their commitment to provide a platform for local artists. Artists Edwin Burdis and Tom Woolner collaborated to create a new performance piece which takes a playful and humorous look at the city’s naval history, creating an alternative narrative influenced by sea shanties, the pubs of Plymouth and prominent local figures such as Beryl Cook. Local singers will be working with the artists moving through the city over the weekend and stopping for performances at planned locations. Bram Thomas Arnold’s ephemeral artwork The Park Bench Reader will take over benches along Armada Way for public readings, as a form of protest against speed, acceleration, anxiety and isolation.

The Athenaeum, Plymouth School of Creative Arts and Ocean Studios will become central hubs of the artist-led activity throughout PAW. Each venue will host multiple exhibitions and projects, with Weekender favourites including the ‘Fantasy Orchestra’, ‘Cafe Concrete’ and ‘Video Social Club’ returning to the city.

The Atlantic Project is also presenting A Good Neighbour billboard project by Elmgreen & Dragset with Lukas Wassmann during PAW. Presented in collaboration with the Istanbul Biennial and Urban Splash, photographic works will be displayed on the Civic Centre hoardings and throughout the city, along with questions asking what makes a good neighbour today. A series of related performances and events by the Beyond Face performance group and Fotonow with Devon & Cornwall Refugee Support will explore questions of co-existence and neighbourliness in the context of Plymouth specifically.