The Spectator Exhibition
There is a new exhibition on at the Art Gallery to coincide with the the Olympics this summer. As the name suggests though, it's more about the spectators than the sport.

Tonight (Friday) was the launch night and it was also the prize-giving ceremony for the lucky winners of the competition that ran before the exhibition. Myself, Jamie and Jo from the Museum, and Glen from The Courier, all gathered together a few weeks ago to choose the lucky winner and amazingly we were unanimous. You can see their winning entry on the Wall of Fans gallery when you visit.
...including some by the great Martin Parr
I really encourage you to pay this exhibition a visit, there are some wonderful photographs on display, including some by the great Martin Parr. There are also some intriguing sports-related items donated by other museums and local residents for you to enjoy. If the kids get to restless whilst you look around there is also Wii Sports to play with.
When you stop by please take a few moments to read the intro boards scattered around because one of them is mine, and to encourage you to pop along I have reprinted a small fragment of my piece here below:
If there is one name in the world of photography that will polarise opinion more than any other, it’s Martin Parr.
Until a year or so ago the photographic pedant inside me really didn’t appreciate his images, I couldn’t see past the technical imperfections. But I was missing the point. It’s not until I really studied his work that I discovered that his primary objective is capturing moments; he is interested in people and the minutiae of their lives, and he always does it with a healthy dose of affectionate humour.
The images chosen for this exhibition are great examples of his work and perfectly embody what it’s like to be a spectator. Stand in front of these photographs for a few minutes and soak up the emotion emanating from the sports fans. Feel their passion, feel their pain.
All in all a really great exhibition that has obviously taken a lot of hard work to put together and is really well worth you all taking a half an hour out of your day to go along and visit. Let me know what you think when you do.
Click here to see some photographs from the opening night.











