2024
RIPPLES RUN DEEP
Sian Cann
5 October – 9 November
The winner of ACEarts Open ’23, Sian presents a new body of work using analogue and camera less photography which reveals the surprising visual poetry of water. Images made directly from the surface of local waterways and in her experimental darkroom tell elemental stories, from the rhythmic babble of clear streams to the contrasting congestion of plastic-polluted channels. The exhibition invites you to connect the ripples that run deeply through all of nature and ourselves, and to see this life-giving force in a whole new way.
Join us for the opening event Saturday 5 October 11-1 pm
Large Print – Siân Cann artist statement
Collections: Choose, study, explore…create.
Stitch Textile Artists
16 November – 24 December
Drawing inspiration from their personal collections, each artist has crafted unique new pieces that reflect their perspectives and creativity. Utilizing a diverse array of media and techniques, the exhibition highlights the distinct responses each artist has to their chosen inspirations, resulting in a rich tapestry of artistic expression.
Image: Sylvia Grant
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Previous Exhibitions 2024
IN STITCHES
Community Textiles Project Exhibition
27 January – 24 February
A joyful showcase of all the textile pieces made by participants of our community project during 2023 in response to the theme ‘In Stitches’.
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CASTING SHADOWS
Selected members of the Royal Society of Sculptors:
Barbara Beyer, Rosalyn Burgin, Fiona Campbell, Martin Cody, Dallas Collins, Alice Cunningham, Deborah Duffin, Chris Dunseath, Jane Fox, Alice Freeman, Anna Gillespie, William Lasdun, Nina Gronw-Lewis, Wen-Hsi Harman, Jane Jobling, Paul Juillerat, Robert Marshall, Seamus Moran, Susie Olczak, Kate Parsons, Mark Richards, Alice Sheppard Fidler, Christopher Summerfield, Jo Taylor, Nicola Turner, Patricia Volk, Tom Waugh, Hamish Young & guest artist Tony Martin.
2 March – 6 April – Please note that the exhibition space will close at 4pm on 6 April
This exhibition celebrates contemporary sculptural practice and its many forms. Sculpture is arguably the most diverse of artistic mediums allowing unrivalled freedom in materials, process, form and scale. Crossing boundaries between architecture, design, manufacturing and craft, sculpture is a constantly evolving art form that pervades our lives like no other.
Image: Jo Taylor
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EARTH WATER WIND & FIRE
Lucy Evans, Elizabeth Raeburn & Rodney Lawrence
13 April – 25 May
From the sublime to the subliminal, and the illustration of everyday humour, there’s something for everyone in this show.
We take the ‘less noticed’ from the natural world. Earth relates to water, with wind and gentle air swirling in landscapes, transformed in ceramic by fire and flame into something we can keep.
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THE RED DRESS
1-29 June
The Red Dress is a global collaborative embroidery project conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod. 14 years in the making, and involving 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, it seeks to connect individuals from all walks of life and provide a platform for women’s voices to be heard.
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EVOLVER PRIZE 2024
6 July – 10 August
Opening event 1 – 3 pm Saturday 6th July, prize giving at 2 pm.
Artists, photographers and designers compete annually for a cash prize of £1,000 and their work to be published on the front cover of the July/August edition of Evolver, the Wessex arts and culture guide. This exhibition will feature the winning entry alongside the 49 runners-up.
SWITCHBOOK
‘A Culture of Hope – re-imagining the future with hope and creativity’
6 July – 10 August
SWITCHBOOK is an innovative collaboration, bringing together arts educators and artists from across Somerset, working side-by-side on a continuous sketchbook journey.
The project is led by arts education charity, SPAEDA (Somerset Partnership Arts Education Agency), and runs with a new cohort of artists and teachers every year, building an ever-growing arts education community.
This exhibition showcases the latest selection of sketchbooks from our most recent programme, which ran from October 2023 to June 2024. Participants started with the theme A Culture of Hope and responded to each other work sharing sketchbooks once a month by post.
SWITCHBOOK was established to connect arts, cultural and educational practitioners across Somerset together for mutual learning and support. It is based on the original national Sketchbook Circle. SPAEDA trialled the idea back in 2017, to great effect, and is now in its 4th year! The original circle was set up because art educators wanted to challenge themselves as artists, looking for a way to fit in making around the hectic life of a teacher.
“I’ve really enjoyed switching off with it, once I was brave enough to get started, I could’ve gone on and on!”
“This is such a great project; the responses made me do something complex and different. Thank you for the inspiration”
“Corresponding with other teacher artists and makers gave me time to focus on my own development in a friendly and supportive way.”
Hanging by a Thread
Angela Knapp and Kara Chambers
17 August – 28 September
The world continues to change leaving nature struggling to find habitats within and between human spaces.
Angela’s work focuses on birds, once common in her lifetime which are now facing drastic declines and an uncertain future. The artwork is inspired by the meticulous records of local bird watcher John McGeoch beginning in the 1940’s. Using paint, fabric, hand and machine stitch the artwork aims to illustrate the beauty of these once common birds and how their lives and future now hang by a thread.
Kara also employs hand stitch as a vehicle she states. “As I stitch, I am held by the thread. My creativity is a vessel for all of life’s joys and sorrows. The simple act of hand sewing slows the world, deepening my understanding and appreciation of nature and provides insights into my internal processes.”