The Rapture Manifesto

Throughout May and June 2023, I co-curated Rapture, a multi-concept group exhibition staged in both Brighton and Cornwall. Read on for our original manifesto…

The Rapture poster for the Brighton-based exhibitions

We believe in art exhibitions that DELIVER

You walk in. You naturally bring with you whatever you are attending to that day, be it work issues, family issues, whatever. You also bring curiosity, afterall you walked through the door. Probably with low expectations or no specific expectations. The exhibition is sensitively and expertly curated to lead you on a journey and gradually you feel the stuff you were carrying recede in your mind as the art opens a channel that brings you to the present moment. It might inspire new thought. It might inspire feelings or new ways of looking and seeing. Essentially, it restores a connection to yourSELF. Perhaps you experienced something profound, just beautiful or mildly arresting. But no doubt, on leaving, you feel ‘different’. Rapture.

We believe in the MOMENT

We have all experienced looking at paintings that move us, indescribably. We are motivated to paint to recreate that experience for others. Beyond dealing with our essential day-to-day needs, we seek to examine the meaning of what it is to be human. Whether it’s sensuality, curiosity, touching the mystery, contemplating death or simply ways of relating. We show up to the painting, we get obliterated by it, yet we LOVE IT! Rapture.

We believe in our WORTH

Being an artist is like wandering into the desert with no map looking for water. The risk of doing this impacts on our relationships with ourselves, our loved ones, our financial security, the material fabric of our lives. Yet we can’t help but seek for that nourishment, and by documenting our journey through the paintings we make, bring some glimpse of it back for others. We believe there is value in doing this and it is no longer acceptable to expect it to be unrecognised financially. Artists with soul and integrity deserve reliable income. Rapture.

We believe in EACH OTHER

Art is an ecosystem. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Instagram, where artists follow each other for an infinite stream of painting inspiration. We cannot paint in a vacuum. We belong to each other yet are distinct from each other. When one of us raises the vibration, we all benefit. Our successes and losses are shared, whether or not that gets acknowledged. Traditionally a hierarchical and exclusive culture, we believe artists can present a new paradigm whereby we redefine commission structures and work to a model that celebrates each of our creative pursuits. Sharing the love. Rapture.

We believe in our AUDIENCE

We want every single person to feel at home in an art gallery. There is an experience to be had and it costs nothing. Superiority, snobbery, exclusion, classism, that ‘fish out of water’ ugliness that gets triggered by traditional art gallery establishments. It belongs to a different time and we have the update: come to our exhibition, whoever you are, whatever you bring. Be here and experience this - there is no right or wrong. Chat with us, say nothing, do your thing. Buy fifty paintings, buy a tote bag, buy nothing, do your thing. We want to show you. Rapture.

We believe in PASSION

This is exciting! Saying yes, imagining something new, gathering artists, forming our model, painting into this vision, reaching new audiences, earning money… it’s what we love, it speaks to our passion for painting, it matters. We will create this, we will share it with you, we will light it up! Rapture. 

Check out www.rapture-live.co.uk and @rapture_live on Instagram for images of the exhibitions