Wolverhampton Art Gallery wants to hear from residents about their hobbies; from the arty to the techy, the nerdy to the super niche. Whether it is made, modified, collected or crafted; the city’s gallery wants to know about it.

It is an opportunity for the public to take part in Come As You Really Are, the largest ever exhibition of the UK’s hobbies.

From makers and modifiers to crafters and collectors, Wolverhampton Art Gallery are working alongside Artangel and award winning artist and Spiderman enthusiast Hetain Patel to invite audiences to exhibit their hobbies in an exhibition at the gallery from 12 July to 5 October 2025.

The exhibition will bring together objects created, modified or collected by Midland based hobbyists, alongside contributions from people across the UK and a new artist film by Patel. Each hobby represents a decision to commit valuable time to living life on one’s own terms in a society dominated by consumerism.

On display will be hundreds of unique hand crafted objects loaned by hobbyists of any discipline, such as costume and cosplay makers, crocheters and knitters, wood carvers and model makers, ceramicists, robotics engineers, origami specialists, augmented car enthusiasts and many more.

Hetain Patel said: “I’ve always been obsessed by handmade things. Growing up in Bolton, in a working class culturally Indian household, we ate with our hands, and many of my relatives worked as part of the manual labour force in local factories. The empowering thing about hobbies is choice and doing something on our own terms. The creative act is really hopeful with huge benefits to us individually and something that connects us to others regardless of our differences.”  

Hobbyists have until 30 March, 2025 to submit their hobbies for a chance to be part of the exhibition. Come As You Really Are will open from Saturday 12 July until Sunday 5 October, 2025. 

To be eligible, respondents must be based in the UK and self identify as a hobbyist. The Wolverhampton exhibition aims to showcase hobbies across the Midlands region. By hobbyist we mean someone who engages with an activity on an ongoing basis. This might be daily, weekly or a couple of times a year.

For the chance to be a part of the upcoming exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and to find out more information visit wolverhamptonart.org.uk/aacallout.

Image credit: Come As You Really Are, Hetain Patel. Installed at Grants, Croydon, Summer 2024. Photography Thierry Bal