Ferens Art Gallery exhibition wins global museums award

WINNER: The Are We There Yet? exhibition

By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor

An exhibition at Ferens Art Gallery has won a highly prestigious Museum and Heritage Award. 

The global awards celebrate the very best in the world of museums, galleries and cultural and heritage visitor attractions.

Jason Wilsher-Mills’ Are We there Yet? exhibition has won the Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year - Budget Less Than £80k Award, following its time at the Ferens in 2024.

A total of 51,623 people visited the exhibition, where visitors were taken on a colourful journey into the imagination and experiences of disabled artist Jason through theatrical portraits and sculptures reflecting aspects of his personality, memory and disability.

Jason’s work details his life as a disabled person. He uses iPads and Wacom tablets to create paintings that are transformed into large interactive sculptures, using augmented reality technology to interact with the viewer.

Though the exhibition has now ended, Jason’s work can still be found in the gallery. Huge inflatable sculpture The Withernsea 2 is currently the first thing visitors can see when they enter.

A lasting legacy of the exhibition, the sculpture was inspired by Jason’s childhood memories of holidays in Withernsea and the Roos Carr figures in Hull Museums collection, and was commissioned to become part of the Ferens permanent collection.

PROUD: Jason Wilsher-Mills with the award

Jason said: “I am so proud and thrilled that my exhibition Are We There Yet? has won this most prestigious award, and I am pleased that the wonderful team at Ferens are getting some well-deserved recognition for all of their hard work.

“They showed their faith in me, and I was able to repay this by creating new work, which the public in Hull truly engaged with, to the tune of over 51,000 people visiting the exhibition throughout its run.

“This was a group effort, which enabled me to work with and support disabled artists in Hull. I hope that I am able to work with my friends at Ferens in the future, because we seem to bring the best out of each other. For me, Ferens is one of the best galleries in the country.”

Councillor Rob Pritchard, portfolio holder for culture and leisure at Hull City Council, said: “I would like to extend huge congratulations to Jason and the Ferens team on this significant award. To be recognised at this level is a real testament to the quality of Jason’s work.

“Are We There Yet? proved incredibly popular during its time at the Ferens, and our permanent collection sculpture The Withernsea 2 continues to draw as much interest now.

“I know the Ferens team learnt so much about making the gallery’s exhibitions and programme accessible, improving access for everyone.”