We The People Are The Work: Matt Stokes

About

We The People Are The Work is a major visual arts project in Plymouth that explores ideas of power, protest and the public.

The project will build connections between the people of Plymouth and six internationally renowned artists through structures that involve people living in Plymouth in generating the ideas and artworks in the exhibition alongside the artists.

Matt Stokes will show his multi-screen film, shot on lush 16mm film, at The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art, which will poignantly explore punk’s legacy of protest and resistance, whilst charting the decline of live music venues in the city. Stokes will film bands including The Bus Station Loonies, Crazy Arm, Suck My Culture and The Damerals, during one-off performances in musically significant sites across the city including the former Van Dike club on Exmouth Road and the site where Woods nightclub once was, now the stock-room of a retail store at the mall. 
Stokes practice stems from long-term inquiry into subcultures, particularly musical ones. He is interested in the way music provides a sense of collectivity, acting as a catalyst for particular groups to form, shaping and influencing people’s lives and identities.

We The People Are The Work is presented by PVAPG (Plymouth Visual Art Programming Group), a partnership between The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art, KARST, Peninsula Arts at Plymouth University, Plymouth Arts Centre and The Box, Plymouth. It is part of Horizon, a collaborative two year programme of visual contemporary arts, funded through Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence fund and led by Plymouth Culture.