The Memory Chair gold chair and heart logo
The Memory Chair · Contemporary art & living memory

Every chair
holds a story.

Some chairs stay with us long after the people who sat in them are gone. Share the chair you remember. Help keep its story alive.

Discover the Project →

Real chairs. Remarkable stories.

The project

More than an empty chair.

The Memory Chair is an evolving contemporary artwork exploring the everyday objects that hold extraordinary memories.

We are inviting people to tell us about a chair associated with someone they have lost: the armchair they always sat in, a kitchen chair at the family table, a garden seat, or something entirely different.

Through photographs, descriptions and stories, these personal memories will help inspire 30 artistically interpreted chairs—a collective artwork shaped by many voices.

At its heart, the project is about legacy: remembering the people who shaped our lives and ensuring their stories are not forgotten.

Take part

Your memory can help shape the artwork.

01 / REMEMBER

Think of a chair

Picture a chair that reminds you of someone who has died. It can be ordinary, unusual, worn or treasured.

02 / DESCRIBE

Tell its story

Describe what it looked like and why it matters. You can share a photograph, but you don't need one.

03 / CONTRIBUTE

Become part of something bigger

Your contribution may inspire the artwork and, with your separate permission, be included in the future digital archive.

Launching soon

Imagine this chair could speak.

What would it tell us about the person you remember?

You don't need the perfect words, and your story doesn't need to be sad. A funny habit, a familiar conversation or an ordinary moment can say so much about someone.

Your contribution could help inspire the 30 chairs in our collective artwork. With your separate permission, your story may also become part of a future digital archive.

Three gentle questions
01

Whose chair do you remember?

Tell us a little about the person who sat in it.

02

Can you describe their chair?

What did it look like? Where did it stand? What made it recognisable?

03

If this chair could tell one story about the person who sat in it, what would it say?

Imagine this chair could speak. It might share something funny, ordinary, heartfelt or completely unexpected.

Photograph optional. A description is enough.

Launch preparation: The form below is ready for hosting setup, but submissions must not open until the project contact address, privacy arrangements and hosting have been checked.

If a child appears in a photograph, cover or remove their face before uploading. Do not include names, school uniforms, addresses or other identifying details. We review every image before any publication. Please remove location metadata where possible.

Please do not include children’s full names, schools, addresses, medical details or other identifying information in stories. We may contact you to agree edits before any publication.

You may submit a story without agreeing to artistic use, public archiving or future projects. These are separate choices. You can contact the project about withdrawing permissions; withdrawal cannot always undo artwork or publications already produced.

Submissions are not yet open. The submit button will be enabled after the launch checks are complete.

Privacy and permissions

How we intend to look after your story — launch draft

Who is responsible

Kelly Wing-Pearce, operating The Memory Chair personally, is the intended data controller. Privacy enquiries: contact@thememorychair.co.uk. The contact address and controller details must be verified before submissions open.

What we collect and why

Contact enquiries: The separate contact form is open. It collects your name, email address and message so we can respond to your enquiry. Messages are handled through Netlify Forms and should be deleted when no longer needed for the enquiry, subject to any necessary administrative records. Please do not send sensitive personal information through this form.

We ask for an email address, an optional name, your answers to the chair questions, any optional photograph and your separate permission choices. We use these to receive and assess contributions, communicate with you, manage permissions, moderate content and, only where authorised, develop artwork or a public archive. Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information about yourself or others.

Your separate choices

You may contribute without agreeing to artistic inspiration, public archiving or consideration for future projects. Each permission is recorded separately. No contribution is automatically published. We may seek additional approval for specific uses, particularly when a story or photograph concerns another living person.

Long-term retention

The Memory Chair is intended as a long-term legacy project. Contributions expressly approved for the permanent archive may be preserved indefinitely, subject to periodic review, continuing justification and applicable rights. Unselected submissions will normally be reviewed within three years and deleted or anonymised when no longer needed. Contact details will be kept only while needed for administration, permissions or agreed ongoing contact. Rejected or withdrawn material will be removed when no longer required, subject to limited necessary records.

Children and safeguarding

This form is for adults aged 18 or over. Do not include a child’s full name, school, address, medical details or other identifying information. If a photograph shows a child, their face must be fully obscured before upload and the child must not otherwise be identifiable. Every photograph and story will be manually reviewed before any public use; submissions involving children will receive additional review.

Storage and access

Submissions are intended to be processed through Netlify Forms and accessed only by authorised project administrators. Provider terms, processing arrangements, international transfers, account security, backups, retention and deletion controls must be checked before opening submissions. Do not assume a submission is encrypted end-to-end or automatically anonymised.

Your rights and contact

Contact contact@thememorychair.co.uk to ask about access, correction, erasure, restriction, objection or withdrawal of a permission, as applicable. You may also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Withdrawal does not necessarily undo lawful use already made or printed material already distributed.

Before we open

This is a launch-preparation notice, not a final approved privacy notice. The project must document the lawful basis for each processing purpose, special-category information handling, retention schedule, processor and transfer arrangements, and any required impact assessment before accepting personal information.

The vision
Thirty chairs.
Countless memories.
One shared experience.
The first exhibition

Beginning at Blenheim.

The first major installation is being developed for Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, in August–September 2027, subject to final arrangements and funding.

Visitors will be invited to move among 30 chairs, experiencing a collective artwork shaped by stories from the public and community partners, including planned involvement from SeeSaw's Young Ambassadors.

Beyond the exhibition

A legacy that keeps growing.

The ambition is to create a permanent digital archive where memories can continue to be shared, explored and preserved beyond the first exhibition.

A touring programme is also being explored, taking The Memory Chair to new settings and communities across the UK.

Get involved

Be part of The Memory Chair.

We welcome conversations with artists, cultural venues, community organisations, supporters and potential founding partners.

Founded and directed by Kelly Wing-Pearce · An independent creative initiative

Email: hello@thememorychair.co.uk · contact@thememorychair.co.uk

Send me a message

Have a question, an idea or an opportunity to collaborate? I'd love to hear from you.

Please don't include private memories, medical information or other sensitive personal details here. The chair-story collection is not open yet.