Avebury Papers exhibition opens at Southampton City Art Gallery
5 May 2026
New installations opening this weekend at Southampton City Art Gallery invite visitors to explore the prehistoric landscape of Avebury, Wiltshire, through the eyes of contemporary artists. Drawing on the rich archive of the Avebury Papers project, the exhibition brings together new work that reimagines the site’s past, present and possible futures through archaeology, imagination and artistic interpretation.
Running from 13 June to 17 October at Southampton City Art Gallery, The Avebury Papers presents artist responses to the Avebury archive commissioned by the Avebury Papers project. The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of talks, workshops, art school activity and family events, giving visitors of all ages more ways to engage with the ideas behind the work. It will feature as part of the British Science Festival programme hosted by the British Science Association and the University of Southampton in the city 16-20 September.
The Avebury Papers installations will be accompanied by an exhibition on the photography of the archaeologist O.G.S. Crawford. Through his pioneering use of aerial photography, developed with Alexander Keiller at Avebury Manor, he changed how Britain’s prehistoric landscape was understood, revealing histories hidden in plain sight. The display also features his photographs of Southampton which record a town in transition after 45,000 buildings were destroyed in the Second World War.
The Avebury Papers is a four-year UKRI funded project led by the Universities of Bristol and York to digitise, explore, and share the multimedia archive of Avebury’s Neolithic origins and ongoing investigation. To encourage creative reuse of the archive and inspire new stories, The Avebury Papers Project commissioned two artists, Gayle Chong Kwan and Kialy Tihngang to respond to the wealth of material making up the Avebury Papers.
Following an open call in September 2024, artists Gayle Chong Kwan and Kialy Tihngang were selected to create new responses to the stories, materials and research held within the Avebury archive.
Award-winning multidisciplinary British artist and academic Gayle Chong Kwan has created Oneiric Archaeologies (2026), a new installation incorporating sound, tactile wearable sculptures, ritual and social dreaming to explore the collective reshaping, reuse and understanding of Avebury’s Neolithic landscape.
Multidisciplinary Glasgow-based visual artist Kialy Tihngang presents The Bluest Eye (2026), an installation inviting viewers to consider the ripples of migration, pseudoscience, history and myth in the making of place.
Both artists have previously exhibited in Southampton – Kialy Tihngang in 2023 with ‘Fetissoes’ at God’s House Tower, and Gayle Chong Kwan’s ‘A Pocketful of Sand’ in 2024 at the John Hansard.
Councillor Sarah Bogle, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: “Southampton City Art Gallery has a proud reputation for bringing thought-provoking exhibitions to the city, and The Avebury Papers is a fantastic example of how contemporary art can open up new ways of understanding history and place. This exhibition offers residents and visitors a unique opportunity to engage with internationally significant research through ambitious new artistic commissions, alongside a varied public programme that will help more people connect with the gallery and the city’s cultural offer.”
Professor Mark Gillings, Avebury Papers Project Primary Investigator, said: “Avebury is more than a heritage site – it has always been a place of awe, fascination and wonder; a place that has drawn generations of the curious and the inquisitive to it. The work of Gayle and Kialy taps directly into that wonder, revealing Avebury’s power and inviting us to engage with this incredible monument in wholly new ways.”
Dr Colleen Morgan, Project Co-Investigator said: “Creative responses to archaeological data are incredibly inspiring and critically important to demonstrate the current, real-world impact of the past on our current lives. I enjoyed working with students and artists to delve into the archive to find new, exciting stories to share with the public.”
The Avebury Papers is a collaboration between the University of Bristol, the University of York and the Archaeology Data Service, with support from the National Trust, Historic England and English Heritage.
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