April 2020 – March 2021
Spring Exhibition
Angela Darling | Painting
Ashlee Donaldson | Metalwork
1st April – 11th May 2020
Angela Darling is a local artist based in Northumberland, her paintings are a bold and instinctual representation of the Northumberland landscape. She uses colour to evoke an energetic and emotional response to build atmosphere in her work. Angela paints in oil and exhibits mainly in the North East but also sells her work abroad.
Ashlee Donaldson (of Rasp Lifestyle), is a talented local artist Blacksmith based in Northumberland and daughter of renowned blacksmith Stephen Lunn. Their forge has been in their family in Red Row since 1920. She works alongside her husband Alex Donaldson in a traditional blacksmith shop hidden in a quiet village in Northumberland. All Rasp Lifestyle’s Forging is done here, by hand, over the Anvil. Ashlee creates beautiful luxury lifestyle products, jewellery & sculptures and recently appeared on BBC Countryfile with Anita Rani in their Christmas special. Ashlee has also showed off her creative flair by making a prop for the major television show Vera before also starring as a double in the programme.
North of England Art Club
20 x 20 Exhibition
13th May – 29th June 2020
A collection of miniature originals measuring 20cm x 20cm all priced at £60 each as part of our affordable art collection
NEAC’s History: The Newcastle Society of Artists was first formed in 1835 as an association of professional artists. Several major North-East painters were among its members, including J. W. Carmichael, Thomas Miles Richardson (both senior and junior) and Luke Clennel. In l927 membership stood at 60, and included E.M.O’R Dickey who is represented in the permanent collection of the Laing Art Gallery. More recently Laurence Gowing and Roger de Grey (subsequently President of the Royal Academy) took part in its exhibitions, which were held in the Laing Art Gallery. Until the early l970s the Society had a studio in Leazes Park Road, but when that was given up it lacked a permanent home until l977 when a top floor studio was offered in Bolbec Hall (part of the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society). The Newcastle Society of Artists declined the offer, but some members broke away and formed the North of England Art Club. This new club was led by Mick Mortimer and the late Ross Hickling, both distinguished artists. The club thrived with help from local businesses, and in l981 achieved the status of a registered charity with the aim of promoting appreciation of the visual arts.
Summer Open Exhibition
1st July – 17th August 2020
Artists are invited to apply to exhibit in our 2020 Summer Open Exhibition.
The summer exhibition is open to both amateur and professional artists with a maximum of 3 artworks that can be submitted for selection. The successful applicants will only then pay a one off fee of £10 per artwork showcased on our website with NO COMMISSION to pay on their art sales.
How to Apply
ALL work must be submitted online via email for consideration to gallery@alnwickplayhouse.co.uk
Closing date Monday 1st June
Please use OPEN EXHIBITION in email subject heading
Images must be in JPEG format and under 5MB, a maximum of three works can be submitted per artist
Please include title, dimensions, medium and price
The measurement of works must not exceed 3 feet
Pre-selection from online entries will take place initially and artists will be notified by Monday 15th June
All chosen works must be suitably framed, presented and ready to hang
We also ask that during these exceptional circumstances the artists themselves arrange delivery of the works through contactless delivery via royal mail or a courier service.
Please consider this when pricing your work
Graduate Spotlight Exhibition
Amber Brown | Photography
Almundena Rocca | Mixed Media
18th August – 28th September 2020
Amber Brown is a photographer based between Northumberland & Edinburgh. She is currently working towards her degree show, studying for the final year of BA (hons) Photography at Edinburgh College of Art. Born in Amble, Amber’s work discusses her relationship with home through a personal, social, political and cultural narrative. This sometimes takes on an ethnographic form, where recently she has focused on Northumbrian allotments. Her work is predominantly analogue-based and tends to use traditional processes; shooting with a large format 5×4 camera or a medium format Hasselblad. From the negatives, the artist also enjoys experimenting further with printmaking techniques such as etching.
Whilst progressing with her own work, Amber has taken a strong interest in the curation and events organisation of exhibitions throughout her time at ECA so far. She is currently working as an Ambassador for Access to Creative Education Scotland, assisting with workshops in schools and other educational events. Since June, she has also been on internship as an Exhibition Assistant with Design Exhibition Scotland, and has been a board member for ‘Bookmarks: ECA Artists’ Book and Zine Fair’ for 2019 and the upcoming event in 2020.
Awards include: Global Justice Academy Photography Competition – Single Image Winner 2018, The George Jackson Hutchison Memorial Prize 2019, Grow Wild Youth Project Award 2019, shortlisted at the Astaire Awards 2019 and of the top ten finalists at Belgrade Photo Month 2019
Almundena Rocca is a multi-disciplinary artist from Northumberland who recently graduated in Fine Art from the Glasgow School of Art. In the last few years she has been developing her skills using a variety of materials including metal, glass, clay, wood, digital photography, pen and pencil. Often her designs will start with a continuous line drawing and then develop into a piece of 3D work. Inspiration comes from a very personal interest in mental ill health, politics, feminism and the role of women in art in today’s society.
Having worked in a number of socially engaging art projects where practice is based on the principles of collective working, diversity and inclusion Almudena has come to realise that this is the environment in which she wishes to develop her work. An environment where sharing and collaboration of an arts practice contributes to mental ill health recovery and emotional good health and well-being. She has already designed and sold a number of illustrations that are now exhibited in a space used to support young women living with anorexia and bulimia.
Almudena is currently working with a number of businesses both here and in America that create clothing that carry positive messages of mental wellbeing. Her designs have been used on sweatshirts, T-shirts and caps. In the future she hopes to develop her own brand of clothing with her illustrations and designs.
Her vibrant designs have recently caught the attention of the music industry, with singer and performer Ariana Grande seen wearing and promoting one of her distinctive T Shirts.
Autumn Exhibition
Gillian Lee Smith | Fine Artist
Hilary Durie | Ceramics
29th September – 9th November 2020
Gillian Lee Smith
Exploring the lost and found, the past and how it has shaped us, connection and heritage – these are themes in the work of local artist Gillian Lee Smith
Originally completing a degree in Performance Costume from Edinburgh College of Art, Gillian graduated in 2005. Now focussing on 2d work she combines her love of history, community, people and their connection with the land and sea
“The atmosphere in a landscape is a huge inspiration, particularly the places that mark the edges between land and sea. Where houses and villages and harbours are rooted in and belong to the surrounding hills and coastline. Built in such a way that they appear to have always been there. The places that still bear the marks of times gone by, the structures and shapes, all have a wonderful character that is really compelling. There is a sense of history, perhaps a melancholic way of reminding us of what has long since passed, what we have lost in many ways.
There are specific elements in these places that resonate, like memories. The repeated lines of the boat masts, the mark of the tide and ladders and lines on harbour walls, the windows and doorways of old fishing cottages. These are elements that are added into the work, removing them and reworking them time and time again until they are buried and unearthed again through the process of painting”
Gillian exhibits locally and nationally and is currently working on an ambitious art project which will continue into 2021 and beyond titled ‘The Lost and the Left Behind’
Hilary Durie
After a career in teaching following a degree at Goldsmiths’ College London Hilary is now focusing on developing a range of ceramics and paintings based on her response to the landscape
Using textured and smooth black clay, enhanced with inlaid porcelain strands, stains, slips and glazes, all ware in the strata range are stoneware fired and the larger pieces are all hand-built using coils
“My work is influenced by time spent in Scandinavia and Scotland, as well as Northumberland where home is”
Presented here are pieces from her Strata collection featuring lamp bases and pots
Alnwick and District Camera Club
10th November – 4th December
Alnwick and District Camera Club was originally formed in 1901 by a group of chemists and their friends. All, of course, used film and printed their pictures in the darkroom. No digital cameras then!
The Club closed during the two great wars and then was reconstituted in 1952. It has met continuously every Wednesday from September to April ever since and for the last 25 years or so in the Mechanics’ Institute in Percy Street, Alnwick.
There are over 60 members from all walks of life and with many different approaches to photography.
The Club is affiliated to the Northern Counties Photographic Federation, a group of about 50 clubs in northern England.
Nicola Stevenson
Landscape Painter
5th December – 18th January 2021
Nicola Stevenson is a contemporary landscape painter originally from Ireland and now based in Northumberland. She has been developing her practice over the past few years, exploring new mediums and ways of working and progressing her ‘plein air’ pieces on a much larger scale.
Sarah O’Dowd
Landscape Painter
19th January – 22nd February 2021
Landscape painter Sarah O’Dowd is from Northumberland and after doing Art Foundation course at Sunderland University she went on to gain a B.A. Hons in Fine Arts at Newcastle University.
Sarah’s work is strongly personal, contemporary and subjective, romantic even. Soundlessness intensifies her visual response to the natural world and she has developed an individual technique to give that response a “voice”.
Most of her work is done in the studio, based on sketches and photos taken outside. She uses oil or acrylics on canvas and also with oil pastels working rapidly, then washing down with turpentine to create a hazy, atmospheric feel.
Celebrating 10 Years of Eliot Smith Dance
23 February – 29 March 2021
Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) is a leading contemporary dance company, founded by critically acclaimed Artistic Director Eliot Smith FRSA. The Company is based in Newcastle upon Tyne and rehearses predominantly in Northumberland. 16th February 2021 heralds the start of their 10th Anniversary year.
This 10th Anniversary Celebration Online Exhibition gives a timeline and insight into the 24 contemporary dance works performed by this successful contemporary dance company over the last 10 years and showcases stunning images from their archives