Britpop musician Jarvis Cocker, frontman of the band Pulp, is co-curating an exhibition titled 'The Hodge Podge' at the Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire, opening in May 2027. Working with his wife, creative consultant Kim Sion, Cocker has assembled an eclectic mix of artists including Jeremy Deller, Peter Doig, Barbara Hepworth, and Klara Kristalova, with the show aiming to prompt 'unlikely conversations' between works. The couple have written a manifesto explaining the term 'hodge podge,' which originated in the 15th century, and the exhibition will conclude with a piece called Dreamachine.
The exhibition matters because it represents a high-profile crossover between popular music and the visual art world, leveraging Cocker's celebrity status to draw new audiences to a regional UK museum. It also highlights the Hepworth Wakefield's ongoing strategy of commissioning unconventional curators—Cocker studied at Saint Martin's art school—to create shows that mix historical and contemporary works in unexpected ways, potentially broadening public engagement with modern art.