Letters written by members of STILL LIVELY, Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Dear Tomorrow
DonateEXHIBITION
DearWolverhampton, UK
In 2022-2023, DearTomorrow held a yearlong residency in the heart of Wolverhampton, UK, at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery museum. We co-created a dynamic series of programs and exhibits weaving together the region’s past, present, and future, and engaging 20,000 people.
The Story
Our first installation featured letters from our global collection, and invited Wolverhampton residents to contribute their voice to the gallery.
This was followed by a collaboration with local community organizations; the Boundary Way Project, Gatis Community Space, the Wolverhampton School of Art, and others – representing a broad cross-section of this diverse community.
People of all ages and backgrounds wrote DearTomorrow letters and poems, created works of art, and took part in heartfelt conversations about climate change.
The Outcome
The exhibition brought together contributions from the community with pieces from the Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection.
Original works by the Black Country painter Edwin Butler Bayliss were juxtaposed with photographic works by David Grandorge, documenting the contemporary reality of the districts Butler Bayliss painted over a century ago.
Visitors were taken on a journey through interactive installations, films, and soundscapes, with areas to write their own letters, including an interactive phone box to record voice messages to DearTomorrow.
Hear all about the yearlong partnership
in these interviews with museum-staff
and the DearTomorrow team.
The Impact
Wolverhampton is a city with a rich and complex history at the center of the Industrial Revolution. The exhibition, and the process of creating it, gave the community a chance to reflect on their heritage, and the possibility to make a mark on the future.
We were overwhelmed by the positive response. Between April 2022 – February 2023, nearly 20,000 individuals participated in our co-created, interdisciplinary exhibits, intergenerational programmes, and community partnerships.
More than 2,200 people shared their future visions through letters, poems, and works of art. The experience was so well-received by the community that the Wolverhampton Art Gallery museum asked us to extend the run of the exhibition.
20,000
Visitors2,200
Community contibutionsPartners
Wolverhampton Art Gallery in collaboration with Gatis Community Space, Boundary Way Project, University of Wolverhampton, and The Punjabi Women’s Writing Group.
Featured Artists
Rachel Thomas – A visionary set designer and art director known for immersive, imaginative work across film, fashion, and art. Thomas’s acclaimed installations have been exhibited at Somerset House (London) and The New Museum (New York).
Edwin Butler Bayliss – Celebrated as the “Poet Painter of the Black Country,” Bayliss captured the industrial landscapes of the region with haunting precision. His work depicts the stark realities of foundries, furnaces, and the people within them.
David Grandorge – An architectural photographer exploring the entanglements between human life and the built environment. His minimalist, atmospheric work has featured at the Prague and Venice Biennales, and in the monograph Still Beautiful (2018).For this exhibition, Grandorge re-visited the sites of Edwin Butler Baylis, portraying a landscape recovered from the once polluted scenes of the Industrial Revolution.
Sandra Freij – A Swedish photographer and filmmaker and Creative lead at DearTomorrow. During the 1 year partnership with Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Freij worked closely with Wolverhampton community groups to co-create work for the exhibition while documenting the process.
Komlaish Achall – A multi-disciplinary artist exploring diaspora, hybridity, domesticity, and female Asian identity. Her layered practice reflects the complexity of British Asian experience, through collage, sculpture, installation and digital media.
Illustration Students – University of Wolverhampton
Students from the Illustration course were invited to respond visually to letters submitted by museum visitors.
The Punjabi Women’s Writing Group (PWWG) – Formed in 2018 and led by Dr. Kuli Kohli, PWWG brings together South Asian women in Wolverhampton to write and perform poetry. As part of this exhibition, members created new work for the installation Forecast, in collaboration with Komlaish Achall and Boundary Way Project.
Emma Purshouse & Steve Pottinger – Working in collaboration with the Boundary Way Writers Group to contribute original poetry to the exhibition.
Dr Kuli Kohli – Wolverhampton’s Poet Laureate (2022–24), Kohli is a celebrated writer, performer, and advocate for disability and inclusion. Her collections Patchwork and A Wonder Woman are published by Offa’s Press. In 2022, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Wolverhampton.
Members of STILL LIVELY and Art Forum – Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Local voices contributing to the creative dialogue through poetry, performance, and participation.