FLARB (Free, Lazy, Arty, Radical Bookclub)

Join us for FLARB with ZEST co-director Ellen Gillett as she facilitates a fun, informal conversation around our new contemporary art commission by Kitt – using a newly commissioned text by Daniel Fountain as stimulus for conversation. FLARB is the Free, Lazy, Arty, Radical Book Club, a book club without the stress of a conventional book club. It reclaims the word ‘lazy’ as a radical approach to inclusion and self-compassion.

FLARB removes traditional access barriers to reading around arts and social justice topics in order to create a sociable, inclusive space to have a read, have a chat and learn something together. It achieves this by having: - No cost or fees (the texts are freely available online or provided ahead of the session, no joining/participation fee) - No pressure to contribute or commit (it is ok to turn up just to listen or to turn up only when you feel like it) - Very short texts (either written, video, or images) that can be digested in 10 minutes ahead of the session, or if you are feeling ‘lazy’, not at all! - No required knowledge or expertise to join, just curiosity and respect for others. While We Slumber by Kitt (A.K.A Lady Kitt) is an exhibition commissioned by ‘a space’ arts for God’s House Tower.

The exhibition begins with a simple question: what do we really share when we sleep in close proximity? Drawing on the familiar rituals of sleepovers – midnight feasts, whispered conversations, star-gazing, makeshift forts and sleeping bag stair toboggans – Kitt explores how social sleeping can deepen emotional connection and reshape our understanding of care, intimacy and belonging. Central to Kitt’s research is the idea of ‘emotional heritage’: the way feelings accumulate within buildings, and how they are shaped, shared, and passed on through the communities who inhabit them.

At God’s House Tower, this inheritance is layered and complex. Through archival and site-based research, Kitt traces a history of communal slumber within the building – from incarceration in the 1700s and 1800s, to more recent events such as artist residencies and a 24 hour ukulele jam. The artwork for this exhibition is located in the Main Gallery and the Barker-Mill Project Space, both of which are accessible via lift.

Quiet Hours: Every Thursday morning from 10am – 12pm, lights will be dimmed and sound levels lowered. For the duration of this exhibition, the library will also be available as a quiet space. This space includes dimmed lighting, seating, quiet music, and water.

You are welcome to use it at any time if you would like a break. If you’d like to familiarise yourself with the venue before your visit, you can take a virtual tour of our spaces on our website. You’ll also find a visual story introducing members of the GHT team.

Click here to Plan Your Visit or take a Virtual Tour