Chance Encounters: Art Through Accident and Invitation
Venue: Newark Works ● BA2 3DZ ● click for map
Private View ● Fri 22 May ● 6pm ‘til late
Exhibition open 23 May to 6 June ● 11am - 6pm
This exhibition brings together artists who embrace uncertainty as a vital force in their work. Whether through deliberate chance operations, collaborative unpredictability, or accidents that become breakthroughs, these makers demonstrate what happens when we surrender control.
The show explores both sides of chance: systems designed to invite randomness - rules, prompts, generative processes - and retrospective appreciation of mistakes that shifted everything. It asks: what do we learn when things don't go to plan? How does unpredictability shape meaning?
Featuring works across disciplines, the exhibition celebrates the generative potential of the unexpected. It's about process as much as product, revealing how chance doesn't diminish artistic intention but expands it.
In the experimental spirit of Fringe Arts Bath, this project honours risk-taking and discovery, creating a space where uncertainty isn't something to avoid, but something to work with and learn from.
Exhibiting Artists
Brenda Miller, Cameron Lings, Charlotte Piper, Chufan Luo, Clare Newton, Colin David Clarke, David Pereira, Kelly Preedy, Kristina Hughes, Mark Fearbunce, Nia Evans, Nigel Goldsmith, Olga Ast, Patrycja Loranc, Rob Verrill, Sandy Creighton, Scarlett Anderman, Stella Tripp, Yevheniia Demchenko, Zhaotian WANG.
Curator Brandon J. Barnard
Curated by Brandon J. Barnard
I’m Brandon J. Barnard, an experimental filmmaker and artist based in Plymouth, UK. I’m currently doing a PhD on ‘Chance in Filmmaking’, exploring how randomness and restrictions can spark creativity.
In my works I use arbitrary prompts and rules to push my projects in unexpected directions. I’m way more interested in the process of creation than the finished piece.
I enjoy documenting my art journey through articles and diagrams, following how seemingly inconsequential moments in life often matter the most.
insta @nihilisticku
brandonjohnbarnard.com
linkedin.com/in/brandon-j-barnard