Midland Group

The Group was established in 1943 the main protagonist being the late printmaker and Prix de Rome winner Evelyn Gibbs who was evacuated with Goldsmiths' College (where she was teaching) to Nottingham. It was arguably the most significant organisation involved in the presentation of new art in Nottingham and its East Midland environs until its demise in 1987. Its exhibitions and activities created new audiences for contemporary art; raised significant debates concerning education, representation and new art forms; established networks with peer organisations within the country, and connected to and fostered new currents of international art within the region and beyond. The Midland Group frequently reached out to other regional arts centres around the country. Most prominent among these were Bristol’s Arnolfini Gallery and the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham.

Not only did local professional artists exhibit at a variety of locations within the city but fortunate attendees saw the works of international artists. These included artists from Argentine, Belgium, Rhodesia, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Holland and Venezuela. During the Group's heydey in the 1960's (now) world-famous artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, Robert Mapplethorpe and the already renowned Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray were shown.

When the Group dissolved in 1987, its newly created Cinema was merged with the Nottingham Film Theatre to become City Lights Cinema. Likely contributing factors to its eventual dissolution were government spending cuts and problematic management regimes. Although they may be a subject of intrigue, the causes of its demise do not relate directly to the work that was carried out by the Group in terms of exhibitions, events and education. Its legacy is arguably the New Midland Group, an artists’ led consortium for the city of Nottingham made up of three independent artist studios namely Backlit, One Thoresby Street and Primary developing the ongoing legacy created by the Midland Group.

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