Enjoy May Day the Harley Way

PRESS RELEASE  

Enjoy May Day the Harley Way

Early May Bank Holiday Weekend - 5-7 May at The Harley Gallery

[Right: Trush Hour by Johnny White, Beastly Machines]

What are you doing this May Day weekend? If you're looking for inspiration for the 5th of the 5th (and beyond), The Harley Gallery, Worksop, have 5 top tips to tickle your fancy!

Our brand new historical exhibition Runners and Riders opens on Saturday 5 May. Including a wheel from the first horse box, the gold plated hooves of legendary horse St Simon and a full size replica of a race horse, discover how the Cavendish-Bentinck family at Welbeck have helped to shape horse racing to become the sport we know today.

Bring the family along for some animal magic with Beastly Machines. An exhibition of animal by Derbyshire based artist Johnny White, these creative critters will make anyone mechanically minded marvel, and is fun filled for art fans.

Spoil yourself in the Harley Shop with special collections Gift Horse and 60 Diamonds. Gift Horse brings equestrian themed craft by leading makers to the shop,  with ceramics, jewellery and wall pieces that you'll love. Celebrating the Queens Diamond Jubilee, 60 Diamonds is a selection of jewellery that glitters and shimmers, priced from £20.

Visit on May Day Monday (7 May) for two extra special treats;

The Harley Artists' Studios are taking part in Open Studios Nottinghamshire - and 13 of the studios will be open for you to visit on 7 May. Check http://www.osnotts.co.uk/ for information about the artists - from dramatic glass blowing to tactile textiles.

The Harley Gallery is on the Welbeck Estate, on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop.

Beastly Machines is a touring exhibition from 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

The Welbeck Farm Shop are also holding a Farmers Market on 7 May, 10am - 4pm, with tempting stalls heaving with fine local produce. Don't forget to pick up some of the treats made on the Welbeck Estate, with cheese, bread and ale among the Estate's offerings. 

  

The Harley Gallery has free entry and free parking, plus The Welbeck Farm Shop and Lime House Cafe are just next door - great for scrumptious snacks and tasty treats. 

Local school children make their mark on art

PRESS RELEASE

Local school children make their mark on art

Shared Art Gallery Experiences, 1-19 May

[image right, School children at The Harley Gallery, courtesy of Mervyn Mitchell]

Visit the Harley Gallery, Worksop from 1 - 19 May and discover the gallery through local school children's eyes, with special exhibition 'Shared Art Gallery Experiences'.

Nottingham based photographer Mervyn Mitchell has been working with The Harley Gallery to take 7-11 year olds from four schools in north Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire on a journey to explore art at galleries near and far.

The children have visited The Harley Gallery, Welbeck, New Art Exchange, Hyson Green, Nottingham, and Nottingham Contemporary; galleries with very different artistic approaches and culturally diverse locations. They have worked with Mervyn to document their travels, taking digital photos and recording sound clips which have been used to make photofilms (still images with audio) and photographic mosaics.

The project gave 100 students the opportunity to visit art galleries, many of these children had not visited galleries before. Visit the Harley Gallery from 1- 19 May to see the children's exhibition of photographic mosaics and watch their photofilms. Listen to the children's wonderful insights into the experience as they describe their likes and dislikes at each gallery.

The Harley Gallery is on the Welbeck Estate, on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop. The Gallery is free to enter and open every day, 10 - 5(4.30 Sunday).

The project is supported by Arts Council England.

Enjoy Easter at The Harley Gallery

PRESS RELEASE
Enjoy Easter at The Harley Gallery

[Right: Helen Lang, LOVE print, Love Letters display]

Visit The Harley Gallery near Worksop this Easter for your last chance to see three eggciting displays.

Looking forward to your Easter lunch? Visit Dinner for a Duke and find out about food and dining at Welbeck Abbey, for both the aristocracy and their servants. There's plenty to whet your appetite, from elaborate silverware to a beer dispenser, and centuries old recipes - including one for curry!

Learn about lovely lettering with our eggstra special show Signs for Sounds. See work made in traditional ways, with stone cutting and calligraphy, alongside work made with new technologies. Use our touch screen to re-shape digital poetry, watch a film all about graffiti and find out about font design. Inspired? Visit our creative space with the kids and have a go at our typetastic activities.

The Harley Shop's special collection, Love Letters, is a great chance to take home some arty alphabets. Browse lovely, hand made things for you and your home, from £13 onwards.

Plus, if you're looking for some springtime family treats, bring the kids along to our nature themed workshops on 3, 10 and 11 April. Have a go at felt making and pigment painting, or try your hand at making a book (to fill with your own lettering designs!).

Relax and enjoy Easter with The Harley Gallery. Dinner with a Duke, Signs for Sounds and Love Letters are on show until 9 April.

The Harley Gallery is on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop, is free to enter and also has free parking. Closed Easter Sunday.

Opportunity: Join the Harley Studios

NEWS UPDATE
Opportunity: Join the Harley Studios

A studio is now available to rent at The Harley Foundation Studios, and applications are welcomed from artists and makers.

The Harley Studios are a community of 24 workspaces, nestled into the countryside of the historic Welbeck Estate.

The available studio is one of our 'East Workshops' designed by John Outram, well suited to groups or those using large scale machinery. The Welbeck Estate is approximately an hour drive from Nottingham and Sheffield, conveniently situated close to both the M1 and A1.

Studio artists benefit from private surroundings within a thriving creative community, in an idyllic and unusual working environment.

The Harley Foundation was set up in 1977 by Ivy, Duchess of Portland, to 'encourage creativity in all of us' and in working towards this aim provides subsidised studio spaces and runs the Harley Gallery.

For further information, please visit our website or contact:

Lisa Gee
Director, The Harley Foundation and Gallery,
Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3LW
lgee@harleygallery.co.uk 01909 501 700 www.harleygallery.co.uk

Baskets, Badgers and Bandicoots at The Harley Gallery

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Baskets, Badgers and Bandicoots at The Harley Gallery

20 June - 12 August 2012

[right] Basket by Lois Walpole


Visit the Harley Gallery, Worksop, this summer to enjoy a double whammy of craft exhibitions.

From 20 June to 12 August, the Gallery will be filled with Susan O'Byrne's Menagerie of quirky animals, and Lois Walpole's beautiful baskets made from unusual materials.

Susan O'Byrne's ceramic creatures are migrating to the Harley Gallery this summer, after being on show in France and Germany. The animals are made from delicate paper clay, built up layer by layer to create whimsical, loveable sculptures.

Inspired by Victorian menageries, medieval bestiaries and childhood collections of toy animals, Susan presents her animals boxed, labelled and mounted, ready to examine. With amazing attention to detail, this is a great exhibition for any animal lover - visit and see a huge variety of birds and animals, from a Pygmy Platypus to a Rabbit Eared Bandicoot.

Lois Walpole's baskets are sure to surprise you. Basketry is a craft that is over 10,000 years old - you may be familiar with handmade baskets woven from grasses, reeds or rushes. Lois crafts her brightly coloured, curiously textured structures from natural and recycled materials. The exhibition shows over 30 pieces from Lois' international career. Bottle tops, tin cans, plastics, all are reimagined in her playful work.

Visit the Harley Gallery from 20 June - 12 August and enjoy a summer full of baskets, badgers and unabashed relaxation.

The Harley Gallery is on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop, is free to enter and also has free parking.

Lois Walpole - Urban Baskets: Tradition Recycled is touring from Walford Mill Crafts.

Signs for Sounds: Contemporary Letterforming and Calligraphy

PRESS RELEASE
Signs for Sounds: Contemporary Letterforming and Calligraphy
18 February - 9 April 2012

[right]Julien Breton, Freedom- Field at Creswell, Photography by David Gallard.

Discover the shapes of words and the Signs for Sounds at the Harley Gallery, 18 February - 9 April.

The exhibition explores letterform and calligraphy, from traditional quill pens and stone cutting, to tattoos and cutting-edge technology.

Whether you love writing letters with a proper fountain pen, playing with new computer systems, or are learning your first joined up writing, this exhibition has something exciting for you to see.

Gary Breeze's work, inspired by Roman abbreviations, has echoes in the shortened text speak of today. Jason Edward Lewis' virtual typography gives visitors chance to experiment and re-shape poetry on touchscreen monitors. Bunny Bread brings graffiti into the Gallery, while Jeremy Tankard shows us how a typeface is designed.

New works have been commissioned for this exhibition. Julien Breton has made light calligraphy especially for Signs for Sounds. His pieces spanning traditional calligraphic techniques, photography and choreography, were made in the local area and include Welbeck, Creswell and Worksop.

Tim Donaldson, famous for creating the worlds largest hamburgefonts with a two foot wide brush, and for writing texts that you can't read, will produce a new work at the Gallery. Visit and watch his performance, with splashes of ink, swoops from oversized brushes, and lots of lovely lettering. Free entry, Sunday 19 February, 12oon - 2pm.

Visit Signs for Sounds: Contemporary Letterforming and Calligraphy to see a chorus of artists and designers voices. The exhibition is showing from 18 February until 9 April.

The Harley Gallery is on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop, is free to enter and also has free parking.

Signs for Sounds is a Harley Gallery touring exhibition curated by Jeremy Theophilus.

Runners and Riders: The Rise of Modern Horse Racing

PRESS RELEASE
Runners and Riders: The Rise of Modern Horse Racing
5 May 2012 - February 2014

[right] Abraham Cooper, 1836
Lord George Bentinck’s horse “Miss Elis” and Van

Discover racing history straight from the horse's mouth with a new exhibition at The Harley Gallery, Welbeck. Opening on Saturday 5 May, the exhibition will show objects and paintings telling how the Cavendish Bentinck family at Welbeck helped change the face of horse racing, to become the sport we know today.

Did you know that the horse box was invented by the 4th Duke of Portland's younger son, Lord George Bentinck? Lord George realised that the horses would race better if they were transported to the race, and started to use a van to move them. His horses had an advantage, and his competitors quickly copied the idea.

Lord George immersed himself in the sport; he was a renowned gambler, esteemed owner and encouraged reforms to better regulate horse racing - including encouraging the use of a starting flag.

This exhibition will uncover the history of horse racing at Welbeck, and includes a rocking horse belonging to Lady Anne Bentinck (1916-2008). Lady Anne was a dedicated horsewoman who still rode at 90 years of age, and this rocking horse was named after 'Donovan', the 6th Duke of Portland's favourite horse.

Visitors can also see ornate racing prizes such as an elaborate silver 'George and the Dragon' trophy, alongside unexpected and personal items. On display will be the hooves of legendary sire, St Simon's - gold plated and made into ink wells, alongside the 6th Duke's racing colours and paintings by renowned equestrian artists.

If you fancy a flutter with horse racing history, visit Runners and Riders: The Rise of Modern Horse Racing at The Harley Gallery, Welbeck, from 5 May to 2014. The Harley Gallery is on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop, is free to enter and also has free parking.

The exhibition will be touring to the National Horse Racing Museum, Newmarket and will be the first exhibition in their newly refurbished H.L.F. funded building.