Derby Gallery adds school pupils’ art to Stephen Iliffe’s prestigious exhibition

Artwork from the Royal School for the Deaf Derby will be shown alongside internationally renowned deaf photographer Stephen Iliffe’s major new photography exhibition at the Artcore Gallery. It will be open from Friday 4 October to Saturday 2 November 2024 and will highlight the achievements of deaf people.

In a historic first-ever exhibition about the deaf community to be hosted in Derby, Deaf Mosaic will feature intimate portraits and stories of deaf people from a wide range of backgrounds – TV chef to actress, NHS nurse to postman, kick-boxer to musician. The message is ‘with the right support, deaf people can do anything’.

Deaf Mosaic is by photographer Stephen Iliffe, who is deaf himself and from the East Midlands.

Alongside Stephen’s portraits, there will be feature artwork from the Royal School for the Deaf Derby within the exhibition space at Artcore’s city centre gallery.

The initial announcement of Stephen’s exhibition at Artcore, created a huge level of excitement for the staff and pupils at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby. That excitement has been translated into the famous photographer leading a day of creativity for pupils at the school.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of our pupils,” says headteacher of Royal School for the Deaf Derby, Paul Burrows. “Having this level of personal access to someone inspirational both in the deaf and art communities gives pupils a positive role model, something that cannot be underestimated.

“During Stephen’s visit to our school on 18 September, he will be delivering workshops across all the age ranges to inspire their creativity. Knowing that their artworks will be on public display at the Artcore gallery, demonstrates the importance of this visit.”

Ruchita Shaikh, Artcore’s CEO says: “It is an honour for Artcore to be hosting Stephen Iliffe’s work at our cultural hub in Derby’s city centre, and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for the deaf community to be part of the exhibition. Initially our thoughts were that we could host a special day during the exhibition for pupils, but now it has escalated into something incredible with Stephen’s visit to the school.

“And, to ensure an extra warm welcome, we will have an interpreter at the exhibition opening on 4 October 2024, and we are also hosting a free session for people to learn some simple sign language before the event.

“The vision for Artcore is that we are one community, and through art we bring people together. This exhibition is a fantastic demonstration of how this works in practice. We are happy that Stephen Iliffe’s exhibition has been the catalyst for a collaboration between the Royal School for the Deaf Derby and Artcore. This is just the start of our partnership, and Paul and I are already talking of what we can do next together!”