Discover creativity on your doorstep
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
inside THE GALLERY :
ROCHESTER ART GALLERY
Discover creativity on your doorstep
OFTEN DESCRIBED AS A HIDDEN GEM OF A GALLERY SHOWCASING THE IMMENSE TALENT OF CREATIVES IN MEDWAY AND BEYOND , ROCHESTER ART GALLERY CAN BE FOUND ON A PICTURESQUE COBBLED HIGH STREET .
‘ UCA-A RETROSPECTIVE ’ EXHIBITION IN ROCHESTER ART GALLERY © Rikard Osterlund
‘ CANOPUS OFF BORSTAL ’ BILLY CHILDISH . 2012COURTESY OF L-13 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL WORKSHOP , CLERKENWELL AND NEUGERRIEMSCHNEIDER , BERLIN © Rikard Osterlund
‘ REPERCUSSIONS ’ BY REEM ACASON
Located inside the Medway Visitor Information Centre in Rochester , the gallery showcases a varied programme of exciting and diverse contemporary visual and applied art in four exhibitions a year which are specially curated for the space .
Exhibitions in the gallery , which is managed by Medway Council , showcase the work of innovative local , regional and international artists and recent shows have included textiles , craft , printmaking , painting and ceramics . The current exhibition includes beautiful paintings by Reem Acason as part of the Shubbak Festival of Arab Culture .
Curator , Allison Young , said : “ We love that we have such a broad audience and aim to offer an intriguing mixed programme so there ’ s always something different for our visitors to see . Our recent exhibition featuring work by Zandra Rhodes attracted more than 2,000 visitors .”
Rochester Art Gallery is a stalwart of the popular Medway Print Festival , which is held from 3 - 18 June . The festival is now in its eighth year and has showcased work by leading printmakers at the gallery including Emma Stibbon RA .
The gallery often works in partnership with many of Medway ’ s amazing heritage attractions including The Guildhall Museum , Medway Archives Centre and The Huguenot Museum , which is above the gallery . Exhibitions which pair contemporary artists with historic themes always attract a great deal of interest from Dickens ’ inspired printmaking to archaeology .
Rochester Art Gallery is looking forward to hosting an exhibition in July which celebrates the history , skill and creativity of the Short Brothers who had a factory on the River Medway at Borstal for 30 years . At the centre of the exhibition will be a large painting of the ‘ Canopus ’ flying boat by internationally acclaimed Medway artist Billy Childish .
In recent years , exhibitions showcasing works by artists exploring thought-provoking issues have become a feature of the gallery ’ s offer including those by formerly homeless artist David Tovey , Zara Carpenter ’ s Echoes , which explored invisible illness , and Out of Sight , which displayed work by blind and partially-sighted artists .
The gallery has also played host to some big names including fashion royalty Wendy Dagworthy , jeweller Stephen Webster , painters Daisy Parris , Laurie Vincent and Darrell Hawkins , acclaimed maker Kate MccGwire , and textile artists Cas Holmes and Margo Selby .
The exhibitions offer free artist-led family and adult workshops and talks , as well as popular exhibition preview evenings .
Rochester Art Gallery supports Medway ’ s cultural strategy , delivered by Creative Medway , which aims for the area to be internationally recognised for its creativity and culture by 2030 .
Rochester Art Gallery is free to visit and is open between 10am and 5pm , Tuesday to Saturday at Medway Visitor Centre , 95 High Street , Rochester , Kent , ME1 1LX .
arts @ medway . gov . uk www . medway . gov . uk / rochesterartgallery
RochesterArtGallery
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