New project to help create portrait of our times

Fabrica, Brighton’s centre for contemporary art, is asking the public to share their insights for a new online platform, Quiet Revelations, which is an opportunity to share what we are learning about ourselves, our loved ones and wider society through these months of pandemic-induced isolation. With Quiet Revelations, organisers hope that what they gather will become a portrait of our current times. For many, daily life has either become more complicated or much simpler. In self-isolation, what we do know is that billions of people across the globe are experiencing something similar to us physically, emotionally and psychologically. By asking ‘what are we learning from this experience’, Quiet Revelations seeks to unveil a more nuanced human portrait, including the deeper insights that might actually shape our lives into the future. Contributions can be made in the form of a text of up to 100 words, a one-minute film or a digital photo that summarises how a person is feeling right now and what they are thinking about most. These will be uploaded to a website under one of three categories: Me, You or Us. Liz Whitehead, Fabrica’s Director said: ‘We hope to tease out a survey of responses to what is undoubtedly a public health crisis but is also a unique social, political and cultural event. ‘Historically in the UK there is very little information about the measures taken to protect life, nor about what people experienced during the three previous pandemics in 1919-1920, in 1958 and in 1968-69. ‘For this pandemic we have social media and 24-hour news to capture everything as it unfolds. For Quiet Revelations we’re asking people to take a few minutes to reflect on what they’ve learnt from this experience and to share their insights with others.’People can make contributions via social media platforms @fabricagallery, or by visiting quiet.fabrica.org.ukContributions so far, which include thoughts on life in lockdown from a wide range of Sussex residents, can be seen here