Why Artlune and Grapa Came Together for Not an Extra
- Artlune
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
When we began working on Not an Extra, a virtual exhibition by artist Portia Roy, we knew early on that the stories this exhibition was telling deserved to travel as far as possible.
These are not stories specific to one country or one community. They are universal. And they needed a partner who understood that.
That partner is GRAPA, an independent art gallery based in Spain with a deep commitment to socially engaged artistic practice. And together, we are bringing Not an Extra to a global audience.
Two Organisations, One Shared Belief
Artlune and Grapa do not come from the same place. But we come from the same intention.
Both organisations believe that art has a responsibility to engage with the world as it actually is. Not the comfortable version of it. The real one, with all its contradictions, inequalities, and overlooked lives. Not an Extra sits right at the heart of that belief.
Portia Roy's work asks one of the most quietly urgent questions of our time. What happens to a life that history treats as peripheral?
Her woodcut engravings on plywood and recycled cardboard bring the lives of displaced people, migrant workers, and those rendered invisible by political and social systems into sharp and undeniable focus. This is precisely the kind of work both Artlune and Grapa exist to support and amplify.
What This Collaboration Actually Means
At its most practical level, this collaboration means reach. Artlune brings its audience and Grapa brings its own, and together we are able to connect Not an Extra with communities across the UK, Spain, and beyond.
But it goes deeper than numbers.
Grapa brings a perspective rooted in the Spanish and broader European context, where conversations around migration, displacement, and social visibility are just as urgent and just as present as they are in the UK and South Asia. By working together, we are able to situate this exhibition within a wider global conversation rather than a single regional one.
The stories Roy tells in her work, the Iraqi refugee crisis, Tibetan displacement, the Syrian refugee crisis, and the experiences of migrant workers in India during COVID, are stories that resonate across borders. This collaboration ensures they are heard across borders, too.
A Virtual Exhibition Built for a Global Audience
Not an Extra is entirely virtual and free to access from anywhere in the world. That was always the intention. Art about the lives of people rendered invisible by systems should not itself be locked behind the walls of a single gallery in a single city.
By bringing Artlune and Grapa together, we are creating a bilingual presence for the exhibition across social media and digital platforms, reaching audiences in both English and Spanish-speaking communities. Content is being shared across both organisations, events are being promoted jointly, and the conversation around the exhibition is happening in more than one language and more than one cultural context.
This is what a genuine collaboration looks like in practice. Not two organisations working in parallel, but two organisations working toward the same thing.
An Invitation to Be Part of It
Not an Extra is live now and running until 15 May 2026. The exhibition is free, virtual, and open to everyone. Alongside the works, you will find in-depth case studies, curatorial writing, and a series of upcoming events, including an Artist Talk with Portia Roy, a Guided Tour, and a Curators Talk.
This is a project we are genuinely proud of. And we are glad to be doing it together.
Explore Not an Extra now at our website.
