Rochester Art Gallery

🎉 Exciting news, Medway! 🎉

Medway Council is offering new grants to celebrate and preserve our rich heritage! From high streets to green spaces and traditions, we're funding projects that bring Medway's stories to life – all thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund. 🌟

🚀 Details:

• Who? Individuals, groups, and heritage organisations
• Grants: £250 - £15,000
• Priority: First-time applicants
• Support: Q&A sessions, 1:1 advice, and training

Find out more and apply: https://orlo.uk/oTpVd

On Saturday 5 October I will be manning an exhibition stall at the Medway History Showcase event at the Royal Engineer’s Museum to promote the Short Brothers history. The showcase involves local museums, universities, archives, and history groups in an action-packed day of engagement inspired by Medway’s history.

I will be sharing the stall with Mapsl (Medway Aircraft Preservation Society) who are currently restoring a Short Scion seaplane and a Hawker Hurricane up at their Rochester Airport building. Please feel free to come and join us for a chat - further details are on the leaflet below.

There's lots happening in Chatham Town tomorrow!
CHATHAM CARNIVAL - 10am to 4pm
A fun-filled FREE day of activities, performances and more!
MEDWAY OPEN STUDIOS - see MOSAF booklet for studio open times.
A great opportunity to visit local studios showcasing all art forms including crafts, visual and performing arts.
ONE SONG - 11am to 5:30pm (Launch Event 3:30pm to 5:30pm)
An installation in the Halpern Gallery from artist Kadir Karababa about how songs are carried across borders and continents and yet remain firmly rooted in the places they were first sung.
LEGO AND ART CLUB - 2pm to 4pm
For ages 4 and up, a two hour family session with plenty of colouring, painting and, of course, lots of Lego® bricks!
The Halpern Gallery Love Chatham

Interested in shaping the long-term vision for heritage across Medway? We are inviting local people, groups and organisations to join us on 13 July to help shape the Medway Heritage Place Project in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Find out more here 👉 https://orlo.uk/olxyX

Sweeps Festival - Sunday, 5 May

Nucleus Arts - Flora Project 💮
Flora started as idea - to bring an immersive exhibition in the Halpern Gallery, Chatham, as part of Medway Fun Palace 2023 celebrations. The Flora Project was inspired by the life and works of Anne Pratt, and featured flowers and plants made from recyclable material by members of the Medway/Kent community. Plant life has been depicted by artists for centuries, and Flora explored how nature continues to influence us today, in both creativity and wellbeing.

Nucleus Arts will be holding an all day drop in workshop for the public to come and create their own Flora paper flowers.

Find the full Sweeps programme here:https://www.visitmedway.org/media/108904/sweeps-programme-2024.pdf

With thanks to Arts Council England for funding!

Announcing our legendary exhibition - Draco Roffensis: The Rochester Dragon 🐉

This summer a spectacular dragon will be moving into the Nave of Rochester Cathedral. Draco Roffensis will take flight over the Nave from the 1st June until the 21st September.

Inspired by illuminations in Textus Roffensis, the magnificent dragon will be covered in embossed gold, silver and copper scales with quotes from Textus across his underbelly. The dragon has been created by celebrated artist Wendy Daws thanks to support from Arts Council England, Kent Association for the Blind and Mess Room.

Before Draco Roffensis can take flight we need your help creating his scales. From the 4th May visitors to the Cathedral will be able to emboss scales which will form part of his body and wings.

Draco Roffensis is the centrepiece of a programme of events celebrating 900 years of Textus Roffensis. Textus is one of the most important Medieval manuscripts in England. It was written in Rochester in the 1120s by monks at the Priory of St Andrews. Among its contents are the earliest English laws recorded dating all the way back to the 7th century. In 2022 Textus Roffensis was added to the prestigious UNESCO Memory of the World UK Register.

Alongside Draco Roffensis will be a programme of events celebrating Textus Roffensis. Full details of the programme will be announced later in the year but will include family activities and lectures. Textus 900 will culminate in the premiere of a new lightshow by Luxmuralis inspired by manuscripts, illustrations and the culture from dark ages through early Middle Ages.

Draco Roffensis: The Rochester Dragon arrives on the 1st June. Visitors can help make scales from the 4th May.

www.rochestercathedral.org/dragon

Like many other local authorities up and down the UK, Medway Council has had to make some very difficult decisions to address a challenging financial situation.

As a result, sadly the Visitor Information Centre in Rochester will be closing which means Rochester Art Gallery will be closed after Saturday 13 April.

Medway Council’s Culture Team would like to thank all the visitors who have supported the gallery, the many artists who have exhibited there, and the partners we have worked with to put on great exhibitions.

We want to celebrate the exhibitions that have been at Rochester Art Gallery so, over the next few months we will be sharing our memories of them, and we’d love for you to share your stories and reflections on the amazing work that has been exhibited there over the years.

We are very lucky to have a council that truly values culture and creativity and as such, the story is not over for visual arts simply because we are no longer going to be in the VIC building.

We endeavour to keep bringing great art and exhibitions to Medway. We are exploring some exciting options with new partners and we’ll keep you updated via our social media and newsletters on the development of these.

Thank you again to all our visitors, artists, and partners we have worked with and have supported Rochester Art Gallery.

Photo by Rikard Österlund

Creative Medway are excited to announce Medway Culture Fest 24, a year-long
programme of cultural activity celebrating Medway's community, creativity and history! 🎉🎉

To find out more about the festival, the event and the programme, head to
www.creativemedway.co.uk/medway-culture-fest-24/

Thank you to all our followers and welcome new ones! We just hit 2000! Image: our current show ‘Over Lap’

FREE limited edition ‘Horta’ sculpture A3 souvenir posters are available to pick up in the gallery now - when they’re gone, they’re gone!

FREE WORKSHOPS! Make your own Artists Book with exhibitor
Saturday 16 March
11am-1pm OR 2-4pm
 
Join exhibiting artist Ian Bottle to experiment with ideas to create your own Artists Books. Inspired by his wonderful books on show you will work with sequences of images using drawing, collage and some of your own images and have the chance to experiment with simple bookmaking techniques to reconfigure elements to make an artist’s book. 
If possible please bring an A4 printed/photocopied image that you like to use as a starting point to cut up and incorporate into your book.
 
Suitable for adults, young people and accompanied children aged 10+ 
FREE to turn up for but spaces are limited so to guarantee a place please pre-booked by emailing [email protected] 
 
Workshops are FREE & funded by Medway Council   

‘Over Lap’ Works by Ian Bottle is on show until 13 April 2024

Strood Library on Byrant Road, 1982. Now the home of Medway Archives Centre!

Join us at our free drop-in session on Saturday 2 March 10am-midday to find out more about the building and the history of the site, chat to staff and volunteers, and book a return visit to see more of the collection. More publicity about this event to follow!

Source: MAC Photography Collection

Thank you to everyone (all 130 of you!) that joined for the preview of his wonderful new show ‘Over Lap’
Open Tue-Sat 10-5 until 13 April

Supporters of arts & culture have your say on the Medway Council Plan

Medway Council is developing a new Council Plan for 2024-2028. This is an important document as it sets out the council’s vision, ambitions and priorities for the coming four years to ensure the best outcomes for residents, businesses and communities of Medway and make Medway a great place to live, work, learn and visit.

It is more than just a set of promises, it also sets out the type of place Medway wants to be, how we will get there and the values that will guide us to get there.

It is called the One Medway Council Plan to reflect the ambition we have to work with everyone in Medway to help us move forward together to achieve our ambition.

We want to ensure that the plan reflects the priorities of everyone in Medway and are now seeking the views of local people and our partners on the proposed priorities and sub-priorities.

We would like to invite you to take part in this consultation by completing this online questionnaire. Alternatively if you would like to fill in a paper copy, you can find copies in all our local libraries and community hubs and leisure centres.

Please do take the time to share your views. The final plan will launch later this year.

Take part in the consultation and let us have your views by 11 February - https://orlo.uk/dh0h9

‘Over Lap’ Works by is now open!
Join us at the exhibition preview tonight Friday 26 Jan 6.30-8.30pm. Free, all welcome!
Exhibition on until 13 April 2024
 
“Through paintings, constructed works, prints and artist’s books, Ian Bottle explores ideas about time, memory and place. His methods are influenced by what he sees as the the challenges presented in processing the information we are continually confronted with.”
 
The exhibition will include an artist-led workshops creating artist books on Sat 16 March check gallery socials/website to find out more.

Image: ‘Horta’ acrylic on wood

Exciting install day with artist for his fantastic new exhibition ‘Over Lap’ which opens & previews this Friday 26 Jan. Join us 6.30-8.30pm, free all welcome!

Repair Cafe tomorrow

What do you do with a broken toaster? Or with a bike when the wheel gets a puncture? Or with a jumper full of moth holes? Toss it? No way!

Medway Libraries is organising the first Repair Café in Strood Community Hub on Saturday, 20 January, from 10.30am to 1pm.

Everything centres on making repairs. Various volunteer repair experts will be available to help make all possible repairs free of charge! Tools and materials will also be on hand. People visiting the Repair Café will bring along their broken items from home. Toasters, lamps, hair dryers, clothes, bikes, toys, crockery... anything that is broken is welcome. And can more than likely be repaired. The Repair Café specialists almost always have the know-how.

Find out more here https://medway.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/EVSESENQ?SETLVL=&RNI=26032563

Great to be working with on his stunning new exhibition ‘Over Lap’ which opens & previews next Friday 26 Jan. Join us 6.30-8.30pm, free all welcome!

We are currently closed to install our new exhibition ‘Over Lap’ Works by which opens on FRIDAY 26 Jan.
Join us at the preview night also on Fri 26 Jan (& not our usual Thursday!) 6.30-8.30pm. Free, all welcome!
Exhibition on until 13 April 2024
 
Through paintings, constructed works, prints and artist’s books, Ian Bottle explores ideas about time, memory and place. His methods are influenced by what he sees as the the challenges presented in processing the information we are continually confronted with. 

Developing artist’s books as sculptural forms, Ian has made work in response to a number of sources including, T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ (Journeys with the Wasteland, 2018) and Dante’s ‘Commedia’ (Dante; Libri Nuovi 2021)
 
The exhibition will include an artist-led workshop check gallery socials/website to find out more.

Image: ‘Purgatorio’ (detail) side a, Pigment inkjet print on archival paper
20 x 112 cms.

The gallery is currently closed to install our new exhibition ‘Over Lap’ Works by which opens on FRIDAY 26 Jan.
Join us at the preview night also on Fri 26 Jan (& not our usual Thursday!) 6.30-8.30pm. Free, all welcome!
Exhibition on until 13 April 2024
 
Through paintings, constructed works, prints and artist’s books, Ian Bottle explores ideas about time, memory and place. His methods are influenced by what he sees as the the challenges presented in processing the information we are continually confronted with. 

Developing artist’s books as sculptural forms, Ian has made work in response to a number of sources including, T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ (Journeys with the Wasteland, 2018) and Dante’s ‘Commedia’ (Dante; Libri Nuovi 2021)
 
The exhibition will include an artist-led workshop check gallery socials/website to find out more.

Image: ‘Purgatorio’ side a, Pigment inkjet print on archival paper
20 x 112 cms.

Just two weeks until our new exhibition opens, ‘Over Lap’ Works by opens on FRIDAY 26 Jan.
Join us at the preview night also on Fri 26 Jan (& not our usual Thursday!) 6.30-8.30pm. Free, all welcome!
Exhibition on until 13 April 2024
 
Through paintings, constructed works, prints and artist’s books, Ian Bottle explores ideas about time, memory and place. His methods are influenced by what he sees as the the challenges presented in processing the information we are continually confronted with. 

Developing artist’s books as sculptural forms, Ian has made work in response to a number of sources including, T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ (Journeys with the Wasteland, 2018) and Dante’s ‘Commedia’ (Dante; Libri Nuovi 2021)
 
The exhibition will include an artist-led workshop check gallery socials/website to find out more.

Image: ‘Paradiso’
 Side a, Pigment inkjet print on archival paper. 20 x 112 cms.

The Gallery is now closed for Christmas & will reopen 10am to 5pm on:
* Thu 28 December
* Fri 29 December
* Sat 30 December
We are closed Sun 31 Dec & Mon 1 Jan
* Normal hours resume from Tuesday 2 January (10am to 5pm from Tue to Sat)

Wishing all our visitors, supporters & exhibitors a wonderful Christmas!
Image by : our current show ‘Upon the High Street’ - photographs by featuring tin type photographs by
On until 13 January 2024

Our next exhibition ‘Over Lap’ works by
opens on 26 January > 13 April 2024
Join us for the preview evening
FRIDAY 26 Jan (not our usual Thursday), 6.30-8.30pm. Free, all welcome
Through paintings, constructed works, prints and artist’s books, Ian Bottle explores ideas about time, memory and place. His methods are influenced by what he sees as the the challenges presented in processing the information we are continually confronted with. Ian’s work is informed by drawings and photographs that explore patterns within our seeing, thinking and doing, simultaneously building up and breaking down an image or sculptural form until a coherent structure emerges. The title of the show, ‘OVER LAP’ refers to this process and the potential for disruption to reveal moments of insight.
 
Ian completed his MA in painting at Chelsea School of Art after studying to BA at Newcastle Polytechnic. Originally from Kent, he returned to the coast to set up a studio and work as a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art in the School of Further Education at University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury.
 
Ian has continued to show work throughout his career whilst participating in a variety of research projects that have continued to shape his practice. Developing artist’s books as sculptural forms, he has made work in response to a number of sources including, T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ (Journeys with the Wasteland, 2018) and Dante’s ‘Commedia’ (Dante; Libri Nuovi 2021) and works have been shown in  Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bristol, London, Rouen and Margate.  
 

The exhibition will include an artist-led workshop check gallery socials/website to find out more.

Image: Promenade’ acrylic and oil on wood. 60 x 60 x 15 cms.

What a year it has been!

Thank you to everyone who has helped bring such great experiences for all in Medway with their cultural events, projects, and activities.

The Culture Team have really enjoyed participating wherever we can, and the images above highlight just some of the brilliant events that we were delighted to be a part of.

Have a lovely Christmas rest and we will see you all in 2024!