Wild Summer of Art 2026, Treasure Hunt edition, opened yesterday at Brutus, swiftly transforming the industrial exhibition space into a landmine of art. The format, where you navigate the space with a map, read up on the artists beforehand, and try to make sense of what you’re seeing, is highly interactive, of course. Still, more than that, it is a thoughtful attempt to let our imagination guide our interpretations, allowing for a more authentic and personal understanding of the artwork, rather than one shaped by what it is supposedly meant to be.
Listing every work I managed to decipher would be impractical, and more importantly, I wouldn’t want to spoil the treasure hunt for those still planning to go. However, a few pieces have stubbornly stayed with me. The works of visual artist Inge Aanstoot, using slogans, banners, activism, and layered imagery to create deeply emotive pieces, spoke to me as an exploration of how activism functions for communities whose voices are often overlooked, existing within layers of communication and deeply complex experiences, yet still present through the small acts and stories that we often fail to notice.
Another standout was Dark Days in Doggerland by Koen Taselaar, a woven jacquard tapestry haunted by the memory of birds and landscapes that once existed between the Netherlands and England. The craftsmanship alone is astonishing. Imagining the sheer amount of time required to produce something this intricate only deepens the appreciation, not just for the work itself, but for the dedication behind it and the story it carries.
There is an abundance of different art mediums to discover throughout the exhibition. A documentary feature by Luca Tichelman waits for you as you move through the space, while a mixed-media installation by Natalia (Nika) Sorzano sparks curiosity around themes of gender differences and human connections. I won’t claim that all of this is immediately obvious to your eyes and brain the moment you walk in, there would be little purpose in a treasure hunt otherwise, but the beauty of the format is that it stays with you. I am still looking artists up, trying to understand what they displayed, and carrying their work well beyond the gates of the exhibition.
All of this aside, it is a fun evening full of art, conversations if you seek them, and brilliant music. The space is lit up with a celebratory spirit, with artist takeovers happening every Friday throughout the summer, giving you yet another reason to come back after your first expedition. Atulya JAIN, 18th July 2026
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