News from Halesworth Gallery

In one of the oldest areas of the town can be found Halesworth Gallery in a 400 year old almshouse. Steeple End in Halesworth (IP19 8LL) as the name suggests is on the south side of St Mary’s Church.

The gallery has been here since 1966 and throughout all of this time has been run by teams of volunteers who have organised exhibitions of work by local artists during the summer months. Not many galleries have survived and thrived for this amount of time, and we have a team of committed committee members, stewards and friends to thank for its success. Like all organisations run this way we need more help in the day to day running of the gallery. We have three light and spacious rooms in the gallery and it is usual for one artist to show in each room but sometimes we have collaborative projects, young persons and groups showing so each year we have an exciting programme of events.

The first show of our season over the weekend of 2nd to 5th May is a celebration of the art produced by young artists attending local schools. It is a great introduction to a gallery for local young artists and for them to see their art in a gallery setting. It is wonderful for us to see and support burgeoning talent and the exhibition weekend is well supported by the families and friends of the students.

Between 10th May and 4th June we have our annual Open Show where we invite anyone to submit two art works. This show is always very popular as it combines the work of local keen amateurs and professional more established artists from the area. Our policy for this exhibition is to be inclusive and give all artists a chance to see their work on a gallery wall (or plinth).

From the 7th June until 2nd July we are showing the work of Simon JG Ciappara, Joe Davey and Lee McConville.

Simon JG Ciappara is a Paper Maker, Printer, Bookmaker/Binder and Fine Photographic artist. Simon’s work has found acclaim in many European competitions and found its way into several Private collections. He is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and sits as an assessor for the Photobook Genere.

Joe Davey’s work driven by a fascination with light is produced using charcoal and oil paint and is always looking to capture the subtle textures of real life. Much of the work is monochromatic, concentrating on the stark impact of light in everyday settings.

Lee McConville is a figurative artist whose work comes from memory or imagination and often has a darkly humorous side. Lee uses acrylic mostly but mixed media pieces incorporate oil paint, collage and watercolour.

All details of exhibitions can be found on the Halesworth Gallery website and all Preview parties are held the Friday evening before an exhibition opens from 6 -8pm.