‘Mr Turner Comes To Lichfield’ : A Qualitative Report on Cultural Participation During the Exhibition at Lichfield Cathedral
From April through to June 2017 Lichfield Cathedral showcased a one-off exhibition featuring a rare JMW Turner’s watercolour together with several sketches depicting Lichfield Cathedral. The painting was a bequeathed gift to the Cathedral with the intention of its price raised at auction to go to Lichfield Cathedral. The exhibition marked the very first time the masterpiece had been on public display and highlighted how JMW Turner himself had visited and spent time in Lichfield and studied the Cathedral as part of his artistic endeavours to capture the beautiful locations of the time when he was a young developing artist at only nineteen years of age, travelling and touring the country. For Lichfield this was the first time this artwork had been viewed but also the first time a Master artist’s work had been exhibited in such a way in the location.
Through observation and collection of qualitative data this field report gives an indication of the impact that the ‘Mr Turner Comes to Lichfield’ exhibition has had upon members of the public, through social and behavioural observations and recorded narratives thereby adding to a mixed method approach in order to greater understand and analyse public engagement with the arts at Lichfield Cathedral.
To read the full report follow this link: ‘Mr Turner Comes to Lichfield’