House is a Feeling
An immersive exhibition at Coventry’s ex-IKEA building
House is a Feeling
November 11th - 28th 2021 A.D
at the ex-IKEA building, Coventry
An immersive multi-media exhibition exploring the motor city’s very own ‘Motown Story’ in electronic music.
House was a Feeling was a chronological exploration of a cultural and musical revolution in Coventry from 1985 to 1993, offering an insight into a city before, during and after the arrival of house music and ecstasy.
The exhibition explored the impact and legacy of electronic dance music and emerging youth cultures at a time of heightened social injustice, racism and violence, culminating in a musical and social revolution that put Coventry on the map.
The city was one of the epicentres of a new youth cultural expression in the UK and witnessed the birth of its first legal events orchestrated by Amnesia House and The Eclipse nightclub, the first sanctioned all-night 24 hour club in the UK.
This ambitious and uncompromising exhibition was presented through a series of corridors and curated themed rooms, across the expansive space of the old IKEA building in Coventry.
The multimedia exhibition included installation spaces, theatrical performance, audio documentaries, multiple film projections and choreographed laser projection.
Special events included theatrical performances featuring some of the artists and DJ’s who were pivotal in the scene, live DJ sets, talks (including Deaf Rave’s Troi Lee) and animation workshops.
House is a Feeling is an experiment in multi-media story-telling, using moving-image, audio, visual and street arts, laser environments and live theatrical performances. Our aim is to explore complex working-class histories stories in engaging and accessible ways that will leave you coming back for me. Stories from the streets, told by kids from the streets.
Read a full review of House is a Feeling in here Dazed.
“This is a historical documentation of one of the most important cultural movements of the 20th century and maps the journey of a youth revolution that took over the world. The amazing thing was this was brought together by black, brown and white street kids who had nothing but each other.”
“Even though Coventry is one of the most multiracial places I’ve ever been to in England, there was social unrest and divides. Then the house music scene came, and we felt that we had something we could put a stamp on and claim as ours – and the government and the like couldn’t really tell us what to do.”
- Mick Wilson, interviewed in Dazed.
