Tell me the story of all these things

Firstsite and the Arts Council Collection present 'Tell me the story of all these things', featuring artworks made by some of Britain’s best-known artists, including Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Cornelia Parker – each selected by radical women of Colchester.

Civic leaders, community organisers, artists, designers, politicians, mothers and the Colchester business owners have worked with Firstiste to present this exhibition which examines the role of emotion and soft power in our society and how this can be used positively to connect and empower us.  

Artworks were specifically selected based on the emotions, stories and memories these provoked, and these will be presented in the gallery to explore the group’s question “How do we create a show about empowerment which is also empowering to experience?”  

The exhibition itself takes on an open and engaging atmosphere, encouraging visitors to take part in an ongoing critical dialogue, and inviting them to explore their own emotional responses. 

Tell me the story of all these things, the third in the Essex gallery’s series of National Partners Programme Exhibitions with the Arts Council Collection, continues Firstsite’s new collaborative curatorial process designed to create exhibitions that reflect the lives and most pressing issues faced by local people from all sections of society, through incorporating them directly in the exhibition making process.