NEW FOR 2023
Waveney and Blyth Arts is planning a unique offer to support the work of local artists.
IMAGINE… a permanent outdoor space where artists from within and beyond the Waveney and Blyth river valleys can display their work for sale, in a lovely private but publicly accessible location, at the heart of an area well known for attracting a knowledgeble public well versed and interested in visual culture and its artefacts. That’s Potton Hall, the site of our very successful sculpture trail for the last few years. Those who visited will know its mix of formal gardens, wildflower meadow and wooded uplands.
SANDLINGS SCULPTURE PARK… an expansive open air gallery focused on selling rather than simply showing, and able to exhibit more than 100 individual pieces for six months of the year – June to November. Sculpture trails tend to be curated within a specific site; our sculpture park will be unashamedly a market place for art displayed here in nature and bought for display elsewhere in nature. This will not exclude smaller works which could equally well be placed in indoor domestic environments – but all exhibited works will be durable. Individual pieces can be sold at any time and further pieces will be added to replace them. If the sclpture park is successful this year, our plan is to refresh it with completely new works – and new artists – each year.
ARTISTS… all that we ask is that you join Waveney and Blyth Arts if you’re are not already a member. We will manage the site and the placing of works as well as overseeing sales. We will maintain and update a sales catalogue for the public to use when visiting the site. We intend to keep costs to a minimum in order to maximise the income for artists on the sale of their works. So we will add only a minimal commission to cover management and marketing expenses.
MEMBERS/MAKERS… we haven’t forgotten our members and others who create works for inside display or personal use. If we can establish Sandlings as a permanent feature, we intend to mount occasional indoor art/craft markets there – perhaps one to attract summer visitors and one to coincide with Christmas. We hope to include demonstrations and workshops as well.
BUT FIRST… we have to establish the viability of Sandlings Sculpture Park. So we will shortly be contacting all our existing creative members with more details – including practicalities and terms and conditions. Then we will broaden the offer to include artists who are members of other local arts organisations. In the meantime do contact me (simon@thefen.org) for any additional information.
Simon Raven, Waveney & Blyth Arts trustee.
(Images are from our 2022 Sculpture in the Valley sculpture trail, from left, Potton Hall, work by Cindy Lee Wright, Zoe Rubens and Meg Amsden.)
See what our creative members are up to…
MASTERPIECES – WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO SEE
On 16 December we held a successful little event at The Cut in Halesworth. Two distinguished art historians spoke about their latest books. They were wonderful speakers, and the audience joined in the subsequent discussion. The Halesworth bookshop (our collaborator in this event) had a stand.
Jean-Paul Stonard has written widely, including for the Guardian, and Times Literary Supplement; he curated the 2014 Tate exhibition, Kenneth Clark, Looking for Civilisation. His book, CREATION Art since the beginning (Bloomsbury) is a panoramic world history of art, from prehistory to the present day.
Christopher Lloyd has worked at the Villa I Tatti in Florence, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1988 to 2005 he curated the paintings and miniatures in the Royal Collection. He has published on Degas and Cezanne. His book, MASTERPIECES An Art lover’s Guide to Great Britain and Ireland (Thames & Hudson) is a beautiful gazetteer.
Christoper Lloyd’s top 20 masterpieces.
A highlight of Christopher Lloyd’s presentation was his top twenty masterpieces that can be seen in public galleries and museums in the UK (outside London). Here they are, and it’s an invitation to head north, where half of them live.
London too!
The event was chaired by Grace Adam, Suffolk-based artist, Chelsea College of Arts lecturer and host of the Art Channel. She has since chipped in with her London top three.