Jason and the Adventure of 254

This time last week I was at Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, talking evaluation tools, and seeing Jason and the Adventure of 254. Having worked with Jason recently as a fellow judge for the 2025 Coventry Open, it was a particular joy to encounter his work in this context.

The exhibition is bold, inventive and deeply personal. Jason manages to take his own childhood experiences of illness and disability and translate them into a visual language that is both playful and uncompromising. It is work that makes you laugh and think at the same time, and it demonstrates how humour and imagination can carry serious weight.

From a curatorial perspective, the show is a strong example of how museums can support artists to tell complex and important stories in ways that connect with broad audiences. The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum should be praised for giving Jason’s work the space and visibility it deserves, and for continuing to programme exhibitions that challenge as well as engage.

This is an exhibition that will stay with me, not only for Jason’s artistry but also for what it signals about the role of museums in holding space for complex narratives, something I champion.