Visiting the Cheltenham Illustration Exhibition

During half term me and my family went on a road trip to Bicester and Silverstone. As a huge Formula 1 fan, we had planned to visit the Silverstone Museum and see the track, while doing some shopping in Bicester Village on the way. I had previously received an email from Pittville Press regarding the Cheltenham Illustration Annual and the upcoming exhibition at Chapel Arts Gallery in Cheltenham. Unfortunately, my selected entry wasn't going to be displayed at the gallery which made us question whether it was worth travelling such a long way for it. While in Bicester, we decided it would be a good opportunity to meet the people at the exhibition and see the annual, so we travelled the extra hour down to Cheltenham.

The exhibition would run from the 23rd of February to the 5th of March. It was a combined showcase for 2020's theme 'I am Many Stories', and 2021's theme 'The Story of a Better Tomorrow. While it was a good idea to combine them, it meant there was less space to exhibit all the entries, with only 60 on display out of the combined 100 selected. This was a bit frustrating as I would have loved to see my illustration on display since it was chosen for the annual and one of the few students' works selected. When we arrived at Chapel Arts we were greeted by art curator Ian James. Although not a representative from Cheltenham Illustration, he was so nice to talk to as we had a shared passion for printmaking. I explained my future plans to do an MA and he mentioned sending any work to him to see if it could be suited to a future exhibition. If we hadn't gone I wouldn't have had this opportunity so it was great to make that contact and talk to someone about my work. Over the summer I might send him some of my print work as he mentioned some of the print exhibitions that were coming up.

Chapel Arts, Cheltenham

The 2020 and 2021 annuals 

It was also interesting to see how diverse the selected pieces were. A few of the artists I recognised with 2021 pieces had work in 2020's annual so it was good to see how they approached each brief differently. Although my entries from both years were digital, they were done very differently, with one in full colour and one a more sketchy monochromatic approach. 

I took pictures of some of my favourites from the exhibition below. One in particular was from Anna Ring, a graduate of the Children's Book Illustration MA at Anglia Ruskin University. Her illustration entitled 'The Reunion' (Ring, 2021) was one of the only traditionally done pieces, showing a family of rabbits sitting in a restaurant. I loved this simple yet effective approach, taking the theme of a better tomorrow from the perspective of spending time with family. 

Anna Ring, 'The Reunion'

The Chapel Arts. 2022. Chapel Arts Cheltenham - A Fabulous Space for The Arts. [online] Available at: <https://www.thechapelarts.com/> [Accessed 8 April 2022].

Ring, A., 2021. The Reunion. [Mixed Media on paper].