BEHIND THE SCENES OF AN EXHIBITION

As we approach the end of September and we are preparing for our latest exhibition which we set up at the beginning of November, Maria Walker shares some insights of what has been going on behind the scenes here.

Exhibitions don’t just happen – they involve a lot of planning and preparation in addition to making all the artwork to fill them. Galleries are often booked over a year in advance and then the fun begins!

TITLE

When we select an exhibition title, we are also choosing a theme as well so a lot of discussion usually goes into it and we often go round and round in circles and don’t usually reach a unanimous decision. So this time we decided to do something different. We all suggested one title each and then everyone voted for their favourite three titles, ranking them in order of preference. When all the votes were totalled, we had a clear winner – WILD! The advantage of this method was everyone had voted for WILD! in one way or the other.

MAKING THE ARTWORK

Over the past year we have been running wild-inspired workshops in the afternoons of our monthly meetings. These included big drawings (which we then turned into small handmade books), various types of printing (including ecoprinting and using pasta machines) and finally wild portraits. These workshops have inspired subsequent work some of which will be in our exhibition – notably our group project of wild self-portraits.

TAKING GOOD IMAGES

About six months before the exhibition, we need to start to collect good images of the work for our posters, publicity and social media. Not everyone can achieve this at home so we have purchased a background cloth and lights in order to set up a photographic studio at our monthly meeting.

POSTER

Once we have some good images our graphic designer Lynne can create a fabulous poster for us, which will also be used for flyers.

AND FINALLY THE PUBLICITY STATEMENT

Once the poster is finalised, we can write a publicity statement which we can send to the gallery and other organisations to publicise our exhibition. This is what we wrote!

WILD! Exhibition by Phoenix Contemporary Textiles at the Penny School Gallery Kingston upon Thames.

We are wildly excited to be taking over the Penny School Gallery, Kingston upon Thames with our latest exhibition WILD! from 4 to 14 November.

The eleven exhibiting artists have all been ‘Walking on the Wildside’ for the past year creating artwork for this exhibition in their own unique styles, on themes as diverse as the wild world itself.

In this exhibition you can expect to see artwork exploring themes as diverse as global climate change and the environment to wild women, fantasy flowers and architecture. In addition to the usual fabric and thread, you will also see mixed media artwork, printing, sculpture and contemporary basketry, alongside found and natural materials such as rusted metal, bones and an old sewing machine.

Exhibiting artists will be available to chat to visitors about their work throughout the exhibition. There will also be a meet the artist event on Thursday 6th November from 2pm to 6pm where our artists will be sharing some of their wide-ranging skills and knowledge in the field of textile art. As well as meeting artists at this event there will be the opportunity to handle samples, watch demonstrations and try out some techniques for yourself.

More information at: https://phoenixcontemporarytextiles.com/

Visitors to our last exhibition said “What a fabulous, thought-provoking and very professional exhibition” and “a wonderful exhibition full of surprises, materials and interpretations.”

“We are excited to welcome visitors to our WILD! exhibition in November at the beautiful Penny School Gallery for the first time. This new venue is perfect to showcase the work of our members and attract a new audience. The artwork on show demonstrates the diversity of techniques and interpretation of ideas that can only be achieved within the arena of textile inspired art.”

Statement from Phoenix Contemporary Textiles

WILD! will be at The Penny School Gallery, Kingston College Creative Industries Centre, 55 Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 5BP from the 4 to 14 November 2025.

https://stcg.ac.uk/kingston-college/facilities/penny-school-gallery