Banksy and co help bring Mutiny success across West Suffolk

17 Oct 2023

A modern art exhibition, featuring Banksy and other renowned artists, was seen by more than 23,000 people.

Mutiny in Colour which also included work by Blek Le Rat, Damien Hirst, Grayson Perry, Swoon, My Dog Sighs and many more, closed at the beginning of this month after a four-month run. 

The exhibition followed on from the success of the Moments exhibition organised by West Suffolk Council and art collector John Brandler at the council run Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds back in 2021.

The council wanted to make the exhibition even more accessible so that local residents from across the district could see the exhibition in their town or close to where they live. 

That in turn led to Mutiny, one of the biggest exhibitions of contemporary art in the UK, held in partnership at Moyse’s Hall, the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket and Haverhill Arts Centre. 

Now, a Moyse’s Hall visitor survey has found that 98 per cent of respondents described the exhibition as excellent or good and 93 per cent thought it was good or very good value for money.

A major part of the exhibition’s appeal was the variety and calibre of artists on display, as well how thought provoking the art was, visitors said.

The visitor survey also found that 30 per cent of respondents were people visiting Suffolk who came along to see the exhibition.

Cllr Ian Shipp, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture at West Suffolk Council said: “Our leisure and culture mix is one of the things that makes West Suffolk such a great place to visit, and an even better place to live and work. To have had an exhibition such as this, that people would normally have to pay lots of money to travel to a big city to go see, displayed in three West Suffolk towns for residents and visitors to see and enjoy, has been fantastic.

“I’m delighted with the success of Mutiny. To me it’s not just about the number of people who visited but the enjoyment that people experienced and the fantastic feedback that we and our partners in Haverhill and Newmarket have heard throughout.”

Daniel Schumann, creative director of Haverhill Arts Centre said: “Thanks to Mutiny in Colour Haverhill Arts Centre saw record number of visitors over the summer months, in fact over five times compared to the same period last year. We demonstrated that we were able to transform our auditorium into a spectacular and edgy contemporary gallery which surprised and delighted our existing and new customers alike. We hope to continue programming visual arts into the arts centre and beyond for years to come.”

Hon Frances Stanley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the National Horseracing Museum said: “It has been a wonderful summer for the NHRM. We have been thrilled to work in partnership with West Suffolk Council, John Brandler, and the other venues to stage this superb exhibition. Mutiny has created a real buzz with the town getting behind the street art theme. For us it has been hugely beneficial, allowing us to show how diverse the museum can be and with it we have attracted new audiences to the NHRM who we look forward to welcoming back.”
 

---