Events

The Wellspring of 1000 Eyes – a creative workshops programme leading to an exhibition of 1000 artworks Nov/Dec 2026 & Jan 2027

A Painted & Stained Glass and Art project to hang in the windows of the former Argos building to light up and celebrate our One Year Anniversary of our new permanent home.

CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN  https://1000eyes.artcall.org

Inspired by our new home at 9-11 Causeyside St ( a former Argos store) and the Greek God “Argos Panoptes” The earthborn son of Gaia he was a giant with 100 eyes.

“And set a watcher upon her, great and strong Argos, who with four eyes looks every way. And the goddess stirred in him unwearying strength: sleep never fell upon his eyes; but he kept sure watch always.”

His great service to the Olympian pantheon was to slay the chthonic serpent-legged monster Echidna as she slept in her cave. Hera’s defining task for Argos was to guard the white heifer Io from Zeus, She required someone who had at least a hundred eyes spread out, always watching in all directions, someone who would stay awake despite being asleep.
Argos was meant to be the perfect guardian.

The project has been developed and identified through a number of community conversations with artists and workshop participants over the last year in particular. In 2023/24 we staged The Teardrop Explodes exhibition and in 2022 the Being Co-operative exhibition both built via wide partnership and multiple relationships with dozens of artists. This new project is an evolution of the desires and interests our wide spread community of participation built up over many years. In moving from the old Co-op, a site with huge history and provenance, to the old Argos site at 9-11 Causeyside St we reached out to artists to generate ideas and themes which would have meaning and relevance to modern times and current social trends. The central idea that emerged was to develop work that offered a window into the soul, an eye for care, offered detail and context on social health and wellbeing, questioned social guardianship. What emerged was not only inspired by our new home, its name and its historical roots, a site founded by two Gaelic Western Isles brothers, The MacArthur Bros, but also its last occupant Argos. What does legacy mean when it disappears, when the social fabric of our high street declines and what takes its place. This is where The Art Department comes in. We offer a place where life can be understood, questioned, re-examined, reshaped, made colourful, bright, vibrant and alive.

The name Argos comes from the Greek God “Argos Panoptes” The earthborn son of Gaia he was a giant with 100 eyes. His great service to the Olympian pantheon was to slay the chthonic serpent-legged monster Echidna as she slept in her cave. Hera’s defining task for Argos was to guard the white heifer Io from Zeus, She required someone who had at least a hundred eyes spread out, always watching in all directions, someone who would stay awake despite being asleep. Argos was meant to be the perfect guardian. From this we felt the need to develop a project where the communities eyes tell the stories of today.

The project will begin with a call out for participation to take part in a 12 week workshop programme. Up to six artists will work on delivering the workshop programme which will include glass artists, pottery, collage and printmakers, painters and illustrators, and textile artists. Participants will be encouraged to make work for the exhibition providing context and stories alongside each work which will be displayed over two large exhibition floors of the Art Department. Additionally we will work with glass artists and participants to make work which will feature in and lit up each of our 85 window panes over 3 floors.

The project will deliver the following outcomes:

12 weeks of creative learning workshops building creative art skills, knowledge of techniques and build context around health and wellbeing matters. The project will deliver a month long exhibition in Nov/Dec 2026, a Xmas show, open to public visitors, supporting the local economy and provide a positive focus for health and wellbeing, a revitalised WELLSPRING project that lights up a town centre venue and offers fresh perspectives on the art of living.