Art exhibition: Wouldn't You Rather Talk Like Us?

Friday 22nd November 2024 - 16:56
A piece of art consisting of coloured squares being put together by a person who is kneeling next to it
Paul & Conor's joint piece: 'Shaping Fluency'

A new exhibition of stammering pride* art opens at London's City Lit this Friday, 29th November.

Billed as the first exhibition of its kind, artist Paul Aston and designer Conor Foran have collaborated to present their work exploring the relationship between stammering voices and the fluent world.

The exhibition, called Wouldn't You Rather Talk Like Us?, features Paul's portraits of people actively stammering and Conor's concrete poetry posters. There'll also be a stammering pride flag, Making Waves, accompanied by contributions from members of the stammering community.

Two oil painting portraits of a man and a woman mid speech
Some of Paul Aston's portraits of people mid-stammer

The exhibition opens at 6pm on Friday 29th November at City Lit Gallery, London, WC2B 4BA, and runs until 13th December.

On Saturday 30th November from 2-5pm there will also be an afternoon of discussions about the artwork at City Lit's Cultureplex. Hosted by speech & language therapist and stammering pride ally Sam Simpson, the panel discussions will, according to the organisers, "be a time for the stammering community to explore and celebrate the generative role art is playing in stammering-affirming identity construction".

RSVP your place for the 'Wouldn't You Rather Talk Like Us? artwork discussions' event at City Lit's website.

*What is 'stammering pride'?

Paul & Conor say: "Stammering pride is a belief that stammering voices contribute to verbal diversity and are valid, important and should be encouraged. Stammering is rich with meaning in its own right and deserves to exist outside of a clinical or medical lens. Creating physical space for art and community discussions reinforces the idea that stammering voices are valid and that artwork can inspire change in how people with speech disabilities see themselves".

Read our article What is stammering pride? for more.

A flag showing different coloured waves spread out on the floor
The Stammering Pride flag 'Making Waves'

This event is supported by Arts Council England and City Lit.

Two women in running outfits holding flags and looking at the camera
Tayo & Bhupinder
A speaker on stage at STAMMAFest 2023

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