Outside In‘s National Exhibition will take place between the 27th October 2012 and 3rd February 2013 at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. Outside In work to provide a platform for artists who are marginalised from sociaty due to a number of reasons including mental health issues, social circumstances and disability. The deadline for applications for the exhibition is Friday 20th July 2012, and there is no submission fee for entering the competition. There will be six award winners who will receive a month long solo exhibition in the Studio at Pallant House.

Accompanying the Outside In: National will be other exhibitions based around the idea of ‘outsider’ art. Pallant House will be exhibiting the work of Jean Dubuffet, who originally coined the term Art Brut. He was a painter and sculptor as well as a collector of ‘outsider’ art in the early 20th century. As an artist, Dubuffet disregarded traditional ideals of beauty and instead focused on what he believed to be a more authentic and ‘raw’ approach to creating art. The exhibition at Pallant House will focus on the L’Horloupe series within Dubuffet’s collection.

Also accompanying Outside In: National will be an exhibition of Pat Douthwaite’s prints. Douthwaite is considered both a ‘self-taught’ and ‘outsider’ artist after starting her life as a dancer and aspiring actress. After giving up the stage to focus on her art, Douthwaite was encouraged not to attend art school by fellow Scottish artist J. D. Ferguson. Lacking a permanent base, Douthwaite worked from numerous cities and countries including England, Scotland, North Africa, India and South America, but eventually struggled with physical illness after an attack she suffered in Edinburgh. Douthwaite exhibited regularly within the art world, but her work and its unique style was not considered to fit into the artistic conventions of her day. She was uninterested in becoming caught up in the art world, instead being comfortable being linked to ‘outsider’ art.

Douthwaite’s early work was heavily influenced by the work of Dubuffet – something which connects the two exhibitions at Pallant House which are accompanying Outside In: National this coming Autumn/Winter.

This series of exhibitions is something not to be missed by those interested in the work of ‘outsider’ artists. For more information on the exhibitions, and to keep up to date when information is released about them, please visit Outside In‘s website.