[drafty - almost done]

We propose to create an exhibition for Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, titled Rejuvenation, which intends to explore the notion of human remains and the snippets of life which are left behind for those that follow us, whether they are carried through genetics, memories or objects - all of which bear an important link between the past and present.

We will make a call for artists, posted in universities, studios and in art magazines, to submit new works responding to the theme as part of an emerging artists' competition. Those whose responses best encapsulate the theme and its relationship to the set environment for the exhibition will attain the opportunity to display their pieces. The responses must show an insightful and intriguing examination of the past, conveyed in a unique manner that will let 'Rejuvenation' demonstrate how substantially, if subtly, mankind’s history resonates within everyday life.We will encourage the entrants to consider closely the potential audeiences and their involvement in the show.

Once the artworks have been selected those that can will be displayed in a specifically interactive manner, in accordance with the museum and cooperatively with the artists themselves. The art will fit comfortably into its environment, augmenting the importance of the museum's artefacts as well as its own, and the fundamental significance of the things that have brought us to this place at this moment in time.

Ideally the pieces would be made from a number of mediums, in various forms. We would hope to encourage an audience from those who would not typically visit either museums or art exhibitions by making the language and presentation accessible. One of the steps taken towards this, and to engage the visitors, would be making the ground floor of the exhibition entirely interactive.

Plymouth City Museum houses myriad historical artefacts and animal remains. This makes it an apt environment to display our chosen art works; the theme responds to the perpetual subject of life and death, which is ingrained within the role of the museum, a surrounding which would in turn better encapsulate the pervasiveness of theme. The museum has already hosted an exhibition – Human Cargo - that dealt with the movement of people and their roles in within the worlds they inhabit, often separate to our own. Rejuvenation would follow this, looking also at temporal movements; how we carry ourselves through life and what continues afterwards.

The museum itself would benefit from an increased awareness from the public of its vast archives and a heightened emphasis on the educational value of the institution and it’s collections through the interactive ‘workshops’ – chances for the visitors themselves to contribute to the exhibition – and talks from the artists that displayed in the show about their practice. We would ask that students from the universities around Plymouth, or volunteers with some relative experience come forward to invigilate the exhibition.

PLEASE edit at will if there's any  problems or improvements, or if there's more awesome ideas to add (: We need to get a timescale sorted out so I can say how long we'd give from first sending out the call for artists to displaying their work, and how long the exhibition would go on