Banksy and others displayed in Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Haverhill as part of Mutiny in Colour exhibition organised by West Suffolk Council
An art exhibition in a Suffolk district, which featured works from one of the UK’s most prominent creatives, has had more than 20,000 visitors.
Mutiny in Colour, organised by West Suffolk Council, featured works from Banksy, Grayson Perry, Damien Hirst, Swoon and My Dog Sighs among others.
It was held in three locations across the district: Moyse’s Hall in Bury St Edmunds, the National Horseracing Museum (NHRM) in Newmarket and Haverhill Arts Centre.
A visitor survey from Moyse’s Hall found that it was a huge success, with 98 per cent of visitors describing it as good or excellent, and 93 per cent saying it saw very good value for money.
Ian Shipp, cabinet member for leisure and culture at West Suffolk Council, said: “Our leisure and culture mix is one of the things that makes West Suffolk such a great place to visit, and an even better place to live and work.
“To have had an exhibition such as this, that people would normally have to pay lots of money to travel to a big city to go see, displayed in three West Suffolk towns for residents and visitors to see and enjoy, has been fantastic.
“To me it’s not just about the number of people who visited but the enjoyment that people experienced and the fantastic feedback that we and our partners in Haverhill and Newmarket have heard throughout.”
Mutiny in Colour followed on from the success of the Moments exhibition organised by the council and collector John Bradley back in 2021.
It wanted the exhibition to be even more accessible than Moments, leading to the decision to hold Mutiny across the three towns.
Visitors said that a major part of the appeal was the variety and calibre of artists on display.
Daniel Schumann, creative director of Haverhill Arts Centre said: “Thanks to Mutiny in Colour, Haverhill Arts Centre saw record number of visitors over the summer months, in fact over five times compared to the same period last year.
“We demonstrated that we were able to transform our auditorium into a spectacular and edgy contemporary gallery which surprised and delighted our existing and new customers alike.
“We hope to continue programming visual arts into the arts centre and beyond for years to come.”
A visitor survey also found that 30 per cent of respondents were people visiting Suffolk specifically for the exhibition.
Frances Stanley, chairman of the board of trustees at the National Horseracing Museum, said: “It has been a wonderful summer for the NHRM – we have been thrilled to work in partnership with West Suffolk Council, John Brandler, and the other venues to stage this superb exhibition.
“For us it has been hugely beneficial, allowing us to show how diverse the museum can be and with it we have attracted new audiences to the NHRM who we look forward to welcoming back.”
