A festive first for Ashbourne’s Hopton Hall Gallery
Hopton Hall Gallery is to celebrate its first festive season this November to January, with an exciting programme of exhibitions, pop-up events, workshops and opportunities to discover work by artists and makers from across the region and beyond.
Two exhibitions will run from the 4th to the 25th of November: Layered Landscapes which brings together 11 contemporary artists inspired by the Peak District (Bob Bernard, Pete Gill, Carol Hill, John King, Craig Longmuir, Chris Ray, Jill Ray, Victoria Reynolds, Greta Vilidaite, Kathryn Watson);; and a Tim Rose solo exhibition, which explores architecture, urban scenes and portraiture through oil and watercolour. Tim will be holding a Meet the Artist event on the 7th of November (1.30pm - 3.30pm) where several artists from Layered Landscapes will also be in attendance.
From the 2nd of December to the 27th of January 2027, the intimate Small Winter Works exhibition will bring together an eclectic range of media painting, drawing, collage, textile, and print making from over 40 of the gallery’s artists, with every work measuring under 45cm × 45cm.
3D art will be showcased through a series of presentations including special pop-up weekends with The Cabin of Makers from Belper (28th and 29th of November) and featuring the work of Philip Evans Pottery from The Round House Gallery, Foston (4th - 6th December). There will be two three-day presentations: Winter Jewellery, featuring Karin Sheldon, Susannah Brookes Jewellery, Jones Stones and Lizzie Kershaw (11th - 13th December), with special guests to be confirmed; and Yuletide in Clay, featuring contemporary ceramicists Heather Duncan, Gael Cherry, Ian Patrick Palmer, Dovedale Ceramics and Emande Ceramics (18th - 20th December).
For visitors wishing to try their hand by joining a workshop, there will be a Paint your own watercolour Christmas card on 1st and 15th November with Alan Fernihough, Willow Wreath Making with Emma Carr on 2nd December and Metal Foil Embossing with Liz Wellby on 9th of December where participants will create a trio of Christmas decorations with Liz Wellby.
Hopton Hall Gallery Director Ruth Matthews said:
“I’m really pleased with both the quality of art and the number of artists - over 40! - that we have for our first Christmas small works exhibition at the gallery. Since opening in April, we’ve aimed to offer an eclectic mix of exhibitions, presentations and workshops, and have been delighted by the response from visitors. It’s particularly rewarding to know that the work of our gallery artists has found new homes as far afield as Sweden and Australia, with these international visitors taking home a lasting reminder of their time in Derbyshire. We hope our plans for the festive season will offer something equally memorable for everyone who visits.”