Rohit Jayade’s artwork for Loneliness in the Digital Age
THE topic of Loneliness in the Digital Age will be highlighted in next weekend’s independent exhibition at SPARK: York, Piccadilly, York.
Directed by Katya Shikhova, this public multimedia arts exhibition project explores “connection and isolation in today’s chronically online world”. Admission will be free.
The exhibition on November 29 and 30 is organised by University of York students and recent graduates. Taking part alongside Katya will be Anna Wilkinson; Anzhelika Nikolaeva; Boaz Parnas; Charlotte Jones; Fierce Fine Art; Harvey Ryan; Heather Jones (Fern and Heather Art); Lyra Robinson and Rohit Jayade.
“Our aim is to create a platform for artists, support York’s growing art community and ensure that proceeds from sales and donations go toward helping participating artists cover the costs of their practice, from transport to materials,” says creative director Katya, who is in the final year of her Business of the Creative Industries studies.
Anna Wilkinson’s artwork for Loneliness in the Digital Age
“I’m considering a career in art management, and together with my student friends, we’ve decided to organise this exhibition.”
Explaining the focus on Loneliness in the Digital Age, Katya says: “I’ve noticed that more and more people are raising concerns about communication in the contemporary world.
“With the increasing popularity of such TV shows as Adolescence (2025) and Severance (2022-2025), these concerns have become more visible. What is particularly interesting is that it seems not only older generations are concerned, but also people who grew up alongside rapid digital development.
Katya Shikhova’s artwork for Loneliness in the Digital Age
“More and more young people have begun noticing signs of depression, partially triggered by decreasing real-life communication and increasingly chronic online behaviour. Therefore, my team and I decided to reflect on this issue through the prism of contemporary art.”
Katya and her cohorts in the LitDA team created an open call for artists in the UK who wanted to engage with this topic, showcase and maybe sell their work and explore the themes of the exhibition together.
“We received around 40 submissions and selected ten works to be exhibited at SPARK Studios. Some of the selected works include photography, paintings, a digital painting and an abstract visualisation,” she says. Limited prints by exhibited artists and some who were not shortlisted will be on sale.
The poster for the Loneliness in the Digital Age exhibition
“I would like to highlight that submissions were free,” says Katya. “Artists will be financially supported, with each artist receiving an allowance for transportation and commuting costs, and the main source of funding for the exhibition is donations. We’re very keen on supporting the artists as much as we’re able to.”
Loneliness in the Digital Age will be on show on November 29, 1pm to 7pm, and November 30, 11am to 7pm. In addition, a limited-entry, invitation-only event for friends and family will be held at 7pm on November 29. “This will be a great chance to hear directly from the artists about their works and the theme of the exhibition,” says Katya. “The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions.”