Shropshire Art Society Celebrates 75th Anniversary with Spectacular Summer Exhibition

Shropshire Art Society is thrilled to announce its highly anticipated 75th-anniversary summer exhibition, featuring an exceptional collection of over 160 original artworks created by more than 50 talented Shropshire artists. The exhibition, held at the historic St Mary’s Church, was launched with a special preview on Saturday, June 24th, exclusively for members and invited guests.

The event began with an insightful talk by Dr. Rachael Abbiss, who shared her expertise on the St Mary’s stained-glass project, focusing on music and the Churches Conservation Trust. The delightful ambiance of the occasion was enhanced by the mesmerising performance of Stewart Goodhew, a well-known local jazz musician, pianist, and composer.

About Shropshire Art Society: Shropshire Art Society is a prominent artistic community that fosters creativity and showcases the diverse talents of Shropshire’s artists. With a rich history spanning 75 years, the Society is committed to organising engaging events and exhibitions throughout the year.

Highlights of the Exhibition: The summer exhibition has garnered tremendous support, attracting a large number of art enthusiasts. Phil Hadley, the Society’s Chair, expressed gratitude to the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) for hosting the exhibition for the 12th consecutive year. Appreciation was also extended to John Willetts, who has expertly organised another successful exhibition. Margaret and Malcolm were acknowledged for their efforts in arranging the delicious refreshments.

Opening Ceremony: Dr. Rachael Abbiss, esteemed guest and speaker, inaugurated the exhibition. Dr. Abbiss shared insights into her new role with the CCT, managing a crucial conservation project to preserve and restore 12 historic windows within the church. She commended the Society on the exceptional artwork and the superb choice of St Mary’s Church as a venue, which harmoniously complemented the artists’ creations.

The Historical Significance of St Mary’s Church: Dr. Abbiss highlighted the remarkable history of St Mary’s Church, which was founded in AD965, boasting an Anglo-Saxon foundation, a Norman nave, and a stunning 15th-century hand-carved oak ceiling. The church’s floor tiles, dating back to 1840 before the renowned Minton range was launched, added to its allure. The stained-glass windows, a blend of European and English glass from the 13th century, have garnered worldwide acclaim. Notably, Dr. Abbiss shared the story of a 16th-century window that was recently restored after being transported from St Jacques in Liege, Belgium, in the early 1800s. She highlighted the restoration efforts led by David Owens in the 1800s and expressed the necessity of ongoing restoration work due to unfortunate acts of vandalism.

Engagement and Workshops: Dr. Abbiss emphasised the importance of community engagement activities and shared details about the upcoming Stained-Glass Festival in August 2023. The festival will showcase a variety of artists specialising in illuminated artwork. She encouraged Society members and attendees to explore the hidden gems within St Mary’s Church and take part in the workshops organised throughout the year.

The Exhibition Prizes: The winner of the Judy Townsend Memorial Prize, awarded by the Townsend family and the Society each year, is Lynne Morgan for her painting ‘Flax Mill Façade’.

It’s number ‘90’ in the exhibition, so look out for it if you visit! The Townsends thought Lynne’s painting to be a brave approach to expressing its popular Shrewsbury subject, the Flax Mill: it focuses on just a section of the Flax Mill wall, prior to the current renovations. This original viewpoint as well as the variety of exciting mixed media techniques used skillfully by Lynne meant that they were drawn into the beautiful multilayered painting. Judy would have loved it, we are all certain. Congratulations Lynne! Meanwhile, if you visit the exhibition, make sure you vote for your favourite painting for the People’s Prize!

The Exhibition Workshops: We are holding drop-in ‘taster’ art workshops for members of the public in St Mary’s Church on Wednesday mornings, 28^th June, 5^th July and 12^th July. Call in and try your hand at something new. All are welcome. Here’s the programme:

Wednesday 28th June 10.30am – 1pm Watercolours with Wilf Langford
Wednesday 5th July 10.30am – 1pm Acrylics with Lynne Morgan
Wednesday 12th July 10.30am – 1pm Coloured markers with Paul Cronin

The 75^th Anniversary Summer Exhibition opens Monday 26^th June until Friday 14^th July admission is free and open daily (except Sundays) from 10am – 4pm.

You can get a flavour of the exhibition from the photo collage below.

Looking Ahead: As the summer exhibition captivates art enthusiasts, the Shropshire Art Society is excited to announce that its autumn exhibition will be held at The Bear Steps gallery in October 2023, promising another extraordinary showcase of local artistic talent. We look forward to welcoming you.

Thank you to Tamara Hackett for the lovely report of our celebrations and to all members who supplied the photos included in this article and on our Exhibitions page. We also thank everyone who has contributed, in whatever way, to staging this wonderful summer exhibition, as well as all who came to the preview event and helped make it such a success.

We realise that, sometimes, our members can feel unsure about whether they should take the plunge and enter their work, perhaps for the first time, in a Shropshire Art Society exhibition. So, at the last Committee Meeting, we asked one of our first-time exhibitors in our Summer Exhibition to share her experience. Thank you to Gillian Mortimer for telling us her encouraging and inspiring story. We hope it encourages YOU to take part in our Autumn Exhibition 2022!

Gillian’s story

I have no formal art training or background, it’s just something I love doing. The thought of showing my work to others was pie in the sky. But I started sharing my pictures online during lockdown, and found my friends quite encouraging. Several of them asked me if I was going to exhibit. A terrifying prospect.

But the SAS Summer Exhibition was coming up, and I thought ‘Why not give it a go? If my paintings are not very good they’ll get lost amongst all the other wonderful work, so it won’t matter.’ I chose my three best pictures, used some frames I’d bought years ago and never used, held my nose and jumped. And guess what? All three of them sold, to my utter amazement.  

It wasn’t anywhere near as as scary as I expected, and other Society members are so lovely and willing to advise. So if you are not sure, why not give it a go yourself?  You could be as lucky as I was. 

Here’s a glimpse of Gillian’s framed paintings:

So what are you waiting for, Shropshire Art Society members both new and long-standing? The Autumn Exhibition Information, Conditions of Entry and Entry Form are included in your August 2022 edition of Focal Points (coming soon), which also has some extra, helpful guidance about framing your work for Shropshire Art Society exhibitions.

We look forward to receiving your entries! Join in!