Participatory exhibition explores Ovid’s Metamorphoses with modern takes on the past 

Poetry and art collide in an experimental exhibition at the University of Chichester inspired by engravings depicting scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a mix of ‘ancient verse, early modern images and modern voices reinterpreting the past’.

Created by poetry and sound project Ovid with Reverb, the exhibition asks the public to interact with engravings by 17th-century artists Magdalena van der Passe, Sebastien Le Clerc and Francois Chauveau.

Steve Ruston from Ovid with Reverb says: “We’re inviting people to participate by responding to one of the engravings, or to one of the stories behind them. The response might take the form of a piece of music, a poem or a painting or anything really, as long as it’s documented (as a photo, video or audio) and linked to a QR code (we can help with this) and sent to srushton13@gmail.com along with a sentence of explanation.”

Images of engravings can be found at instagram.com/ovid.with.reverb, and the QR codes will be displayed next to relevant engravings. So far there’s been an international response, from as far away as Ukraine, Argentina, Uzbekistan, Canada and the USA.

The exhibition, which is part of the Chichester Fringe and the Festival of Chichester, runs from 12 May to 19 September 2025 at the Costa/Otter Collective space in the Learning Resource Centre on the Chichester Campus. Free entry.

The Learning Resource Centre is usually open from 9am to 4pm, but opening times over the summer may vary. To confirm opening times, please check https://www.chi.ac.uk/about-us/events.