For details of events during Spring/Summer 2025 please see below or contact Ruby Waage Townsend

What We Make of the Ruins
4th July – 15th August 2025
Opening night 4th July 5-8pm
Please email Ruby Waage Townsend to confirm attendance. All other times use the diary on the Visit Us page.

In the wake of the ruins, what do we make of what remains?
When the structures that once promised safety have crumbled,
when the systems that once claimed to protect us have fallen to dust, what is left for us to hold, to rebuild, to reclaim?

This exhibition is a reflection on that very act of reclamation.
A call to those who have known the wreckage—whether born of the earth or the heart, whether shaped by the world or forged in silence.

For it is not the fall that defines us, but the strength with which we rise again.

Here, in the remnants of what has been lost, we find the space to rebuild—not as it once was, but as it must be. We build in defiance, in protest, in remembrance of what was erased and who was forgotten. We rise to declare that we will not be discarded, that even in the wreckage, there is something to be made.

This collection of voices—drawn from the echoes of history, from the streets, from the struggles, from the quiet spaces in between—is a testament to resilience, to the fierce will to create, to remake what has been torn apart, and to ensure that the ruins are not the end, but the beginning of something far more enduring.

The work here is both personal and political, not bound by borders or the confines of what we are told we can be. It is a call to witness, to confront, and to never forget that from the ashes, we have the power to build, to shape, to reclaim what is ours to take.

Bringing together diverse voices from across the UK, Canada, India, and beyond, What We Make of the Ruins is a deeply personal and political exploration of destruction, resistance, and renewal. Over 33 artists share their unique perspectives.

In this space, we confront the politics of power, the fragility of peace, and the personal healing that rises from the struggle. Each piece in What We Make of the Ruins is a step toward reclaiming agency, transforming the narrative, and imagining a future born from the ruins.

ILLUMINATE
A Solo Exhibition by Tony Fisher
7th–26th June 2025
Opening Night & Artist Talk: Saturday 7th June, 6–8pm

Ilkeston Contemporary Arts is proud to present ILLUMINATE, a solo exhibition by Derbyshire-based photographer and visual artist Tony Fisher. Opening with a special artist talk and private view on Saturday 7 June, this vibrant new show highlights Fisher’s emotionally resonant and formally diverse photography practice, capturing the sublime within the everyday.

Fisher’s prolific photographic output arrives like a visual rhythm — a spontaneous, unfolding beat of colour, humour, reflection, and texture. As Andrea Hadley-Johnson, exhibition maker and PhD researcher, describes:

“Tony’s images stimulate the pleasure of noticing… infusing the ordinary with the extraordinary and vice versa. Each image — delicate yet strong — incites curiosity with every glance in its direction.”

About the Artist
Tony Fisher has been active in the arts since the 1970s. He studied at Derby College of Art and Trent Polytechnic, drawing early inspiration from documentary and surrealist photography icons such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Man Ray. Based in Riddings, near Alfreton, his practice has spanned photography, experimental filmmaking, and community arts initiatives.

His acclaimed project Only the Lonely? began in 2019 and grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, capturing tender portraits and landscapes that reflect isolation, resilience, and quiet acts of community. Exhibited at Erewash Museum, Artcore Derby, and the Peak District Mining Museum, the project demonstrates his signature empathy and attentiveness.

Following profound personal losses, Fisher credits photography with helping him navigate grief and mental health challenges:

“Art was the thing that kept me alive.”

More About the Artist:
tony-fisher-photography.com
youpic.com/tonyfisher0

Socials: @ilkestoncontemporaryarts, @rubywaagetownsendart

Come visit Ilkon’s permanent collection.

Click here to open the ‘Visit Us’ page and calendar.

The ILKON [ events ] team would be delighted to receive suggestions for talks, workshops, demonstrations, performances for any creative activity which will engage the local community. We have formed links with local historic societies, painters, sculptors, writers, poets and aim to be as inclusive as possible. The main thrust of ILKON is creative contemporary art but we are a community resource and want to offer something for all tastes, all ages, everyone.