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.

Featuring works from: Claire Anscomb | Miffy Ryan | Dawn Reeves | Macha and Fish | Tom Hackett | Nic Grimoldby | John Tse | Hannah Taylor | Graham Brooks | Yasmin Conway | Flo Jansen | Alisha Bond | Nicola Gabriel | Abigail Dodd | Walt Segers | Christina Wigmore | Stephanie Coley | Helen Newbold | Julie Manson | Sofie Pinkett Kilburn | Ella Stockdale | Jeremy Chuang | Anvi Prabhu | Sophie Giles | Dudley Dream Walsh | Rudra Kishore Mandal | Peggy Lynn | Thomas O'Connor | Schem R. Bader Jackson Bailey | Jewell Harris | Sarah Misselbrook | Laura Dickindon |Katja Hock | Kubra Herhun | Marie Tirard

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.

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.