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Unlock unlimited access to Beyond the Page

We are pleased to announce that based on feedback from our valued visitors, we have introduced a new ticket option that offers unlimited return visits to Beyond the Page. We hope this will provide the opportunity to fully explore and enjoy all that the exhibition has to offer. The ticket is priced at £20 and remains valid until the exhibition closes on 28 January 2024. Click here to book tickets.

About the Exhibition

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Open Call: MK Calling 2024

We invite artists working across all art forms to submit your work to MK Calling, MK Gallery’s open call group exhibition showcasing the most dynamic work being made today. Applications are welcomed from artists and artist collectives working in any medium, at any career stage. If you are an artist, maker, craftsperson, fashion or graphic designer, architect, composer, performer, illustrator, writer or facilitator we want to hear from you. To celebrate MK Gallery’s 25th anniversary, five local community groups will co-curate this year’s MK Calling. Co-curation is a core element of this exhibition as we want to ensure that different voices are included in the selection process and challenge who decides what is showcased in the art world. MK Gallery works year-round with partners locally, nationally and internationally to bring the best in arts programming to the region. We have longstanding and ongoing relationships with the communities co-curating this exhibition. Together they will shape the themes and select the artworks featured in MK Calling 2024. Submissions for MK Calling 2024 have now closed.

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IPA embarks on exciting new two-year partnership with The Pace Centre

MK Gallery’s Inclusive Practice in the Arts (IPA) team have branched into a new area of programme development through a partnership with Aylesbury based specialist school, The Pace Centre, who support children with Neurodisability’s to achieve their potential.   Taking place across both venues, the partnership is offering innovative artist-led workshops, creative child-led learning experiences, and exciting exhibition visits.  Through this work our IPA team will build upon their existing skillsets for working with children with complex needs, including cerebral palsy, and Pace staff will gain new creative toolkits to bring to their teaching on a long-term basis.   Sophie, Producer of Inclusion said “Having this opportunity to work with such a unique school is incredible. The Pace staff team are so supportive and generous, and we hope that this partnership can offer their children a greater experience of the arts and access to cultural spaces, which will inspire them into their futures.”  Working with IPA Associate Artists Matt Shaw and Sarah Hunt, four encounters initially took place during the summer term of 2023, including a class visit to Boyd and Evans: High Time. Matt and Sarah also transformed the children’s classroom into a glittering party palace and turned MK Gallery’s Event Space into a dynamic painting studio, which prompted one child to comment “it’s mind-blowing!”  Artist Sarah said about the project so far “having the children in the Gallery and getting really messy were particularly fun” and teacher Catherine commented “For us it’s seeing a difference in the children. It’s been an amazing experience and the children are still talking about it!”  Diving into the new term the IPA team are excited to be doing some more workshops at Pace in the lead up to Christmas. “Each of our encounters with Pace so far have been so joy filled and we are really excited to see what happens next!” (Rosie, Inclusion Coordinator)  This work is generously supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.  Read more about MK Gallery’s IPA programme here Learn more about the Pace Centre here

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Summer Replay

The team at MK Gallery are putting on a not-to-be-missed offer for kids this summer. Take part as we press the replay button on the Sky Room Cinema projector, showing the best kids’ films from the past six months throughout the entire school summer holidays. The Summer Replay offer will feature firm family favourites:

• Lyle Lyle Crocodile
• Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• Mummies
• The Little Mermaid
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
• Elemental

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Announcing Beyond the Page

Beyond the Page: South Asian Miniature Painting and Britain, 1600 to Now 
7 October 2023 – 28 January 2024 

Including exquisite historic works drawn from major collections including the Royal Collection, Tate, The Ashmolean Museum and National Museums Scotland, many of which can rarely be displayed due to their fragility, Beyond the Page will explore how the traditions of South Asian miniature paintings have been reclaimed and reinvented by modern and contemporary artists.

Gory battle scenes, intimate love affairs, spiritual parables or exquisite depictions of the natural world, this exhibition presents an overview of South Asian miniature painting since the 16^th century. The exhibition features over 170 historic, modern and contemporary works by artists from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Netherlands, UK and USA.

South Asian miniature painting often assimilated global cultural influences from Persia and Europe but continues to be defined by qualities such as intricate craftsmanship, intimate scale and intense narrative. Beyond the Page focuses on Britain’s role in the development of this tradition and explores how it has been reclaimed and reinvented as artists, since the 20^th century, have taken it beyond the pages of illuminated manuscripts to experimental forms that include installations, sculpture and film.

The exhibition is organised by MK Gallery in partnership with The Box, Plymouth.

We are grateful for generous support from The Bagri Foundation, The Australia Council, and the Circle of Friends, chaired by Tarana Sawhney.

The exhibition has been made possible as a result of the Government Indemnity Scheme. MK Gallery would like to thank HM Government for providing Government Indemnity and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England for arranging the indemnity.

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Art Club is back

After a short break, we are excited to announce that our Tuesday sessions designed to nurture children’s love of art will be back this June. This term we will focus on painting, taking inspiration from our summer show Boyd & Evans: High Time, led by artist Lee Farmer. From colour theory to painting techniques, each week will progress and develop skills so that each little artist will come away with a finished painting on canvas. We are now offering a 10% discount when you book in advance for the whole half term.

Art Club: Ages 5-8 Book now

Art Club: Ages 8-11 Book now

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Announcing our Summer Special

Throughout the summer, Milton Keynes residents are invited to visit our next exhibition, Boyd & Evans: High Time, for just £1 during all opening hours. For visitors to MK, we continue to offer Pay What You Can entry on Sundays, whilst remaining free for under 26 year-olds. This Summer Special provides an opportunity for new and returning visitors to enjoy the exhibition, while also encouraging those who can to pay more or make a donation. Our updated exhibition admission prices are as follows: Adult £11.50 (£12.65 with Gift Aid) Concessions (Jobseeker, full time student & reg. disabled) £8.50 (£9.35 with Gift Aid) Art Fund Pass £5.75 (£6.33 with Gift Aid) Members / Under 26s / Accompanying Carers Free Milton Keynes Residents £1 (£1.10 with Gift Aid) Pay What You Can £3 / £5 / £9 / £12 / £15 every Sunday We have also permanently removed booking fees for exhibitions, saving visitors £1 per ticket. MK Gallery relies upon the generosity of audiences and supporters to bring exceptional artists and award-winning exhibitions and programmes to Milton Keynes. Those who wish to support the ambitious work of the Gallery are encouraged to become Members to benefit from a year of free entry to exhibitions, discounts, exclusive events and much more. Tickets on sale now: Boyd & Evans: High Time Become a MK Gallery Member: Support Us

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Trickster Figures catalogue – Available now

The Trickster Figures catalogue is available now! A soft-cover book with 60 pages, this publication accompanies the exhibition Trickster Figures presenting the next chapter in the story of British sculpture, bringing together a selection of work by eleven contemporary artists. The exhibition explores the body’s newly configured relation to the world which involves increasingly fluid movement between binary systems, technology, human forms, animals, identities, and the environment.

Featuring: Saelia Aparicio, Alice Channer, Jesse Darling, Nicolas Deshayes, Kira Freije, Siobhán Hapaska, Nnena Kalu, Joe Namy, Harold Offeh, Ro Robertson and Vanessa da Silva.

Buy in-store or click here to buy online

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Sky Room Cinema brings Eurovision to the big screen

Didn't manage to get tickets to the live final in Liverpool? Don't fret, MK Gallery is bringing the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 LIVE to its Sky Room Cinema.   Fans of Eurovision can now book tickets to the live streaming and join the party as Liverpool, the ‘World Capital of Pop’, hosts the 67th final of the ever-popular international singing contest - on behalf of Ukraine - on the 13 May. All the dazzling performances and nail-biting scoring rounds will be up on the big screen, and with hot dogs, nachos and drinks available throughout the evening from the cinema kiosk it will no doubt be a night to remember. Tickets include a goody bag, and fancy dress is positively encouraged. To book your place at the party click here.

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Local artist paints new mural at MK Gallery

Local artist Tom Guilmard has painted a new mural at MK Gallery. Full of colour and humour, it can be found on the staircase up towards the Sky Room. The mural will be a temporary fixture at MK Gallery until Autumn this year.

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Announcing Boyd & Evans: High Time

MK Gallery is delighted to announce our Summer exhibition for 2023 – Boyd & Evans: High Time. This first major survey of artist duo Boyd & Evans in over a decade marks 55 years of their collaboration. The exhibition will focus on paintings, spanning their careers from the 1960s to today. It will display many of their experiments: from collage and stencil to spray-gun and brushes; surreal dramas that unfold in domestic, urban and suburban settings; and visual games between the real and artificial. It will include satirical political work, much loved scenes of Milton Keynes and epic depictions of the natural world in the USA, Malaysia and Brunei. In 1980 Boyd (Fionnuala Boyd) & Evans (Les Evans) were commissioned to make work by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation. They were then invited back as artists in residence and have remained ever since. One of their best-known pieces, Fiction, Non-fiction and Reference (1984) situated in the Central Library, is treasured by Milton Keynes residents.

Learn more

Download Press Release

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Calling all budding sculptors!

Trickster Figures: Sculpture and the Body is an exciting and inspiring collection of modern British sculpture that we hope will inspire young local artists. Young Sculptor is an opportunity for all young people living or studying in Milton Keynes to develop their sculpting skills, take part in an exhibition this June in, and have their work judged by a panel of curators and artists. Submissions are welcomed from children and young people aged 4-19 (SEND up to 25 years old).

Learn more

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