What's on

updated 23rd March, 2022
For the safety of visitors, staff and volunteers please observe our Covid-19, guidelines for visitors.

Exhibitions & events 2022

Artists Open Houses, four exhibitions,
7th & 8th; 13, 14 & 15th; 20, 21 & 22nd, 27, 28 & 29th May

Festival of Art, Craft & History, Fri 17th - Sat 18th June

Regency Delights: dance workshop, Sat 25th June

Literary Day, Sun 26th June

Greater Brighton Met Grad Show, Thur 30th June - Sun 3rd July

Textile Artwork Exhibition, Fri 8th - Sun 10th July

HOME, Exhibition, Thur 14th - Sun 17th July

Graham Read, Exhibition, Sat 23rd - Sun 31st July

Camilla Perkins, Exhibition, Sat 13th - Thur 18th August

Heritage Open Days, Fri 9th - Sun 18th September

Town House Voices, Sat 24th & Sun 25th September

Brighton Photo Fringe, Exhibition, Sat 1st - Sun 30th October

Kathryn Lang, Exhibition, Wed 2nd - Sun 6th November

Lily Rigby & Amy McMillan, Exhibition, Sat 12th & Sun 13th November

Jacqui Painter & Friends, Exhibition, Wed 16th - Sun 20th November

Artists Open Houses - four exhibitions!
Long weekends through May:
7th & 8th; 13, 14 & 15th; 20, 21 & 22nd, 27, 28 & 29th May
Fri 2:00-5:00pm, Sat & Sun 11:00am to 5:00pm, admission free.

Early Fiveways Artists exhibition and oral history film
Downstairs @The Regency Town House

Celebrating 40 years of Artists Open Houses, including a retrospective of the work of Ned Hoskins and the other 5Ways artists who were the first to open their houses, plus work by young and emerging artists.

In 1982 Ned Hoskins opened his house for the first time; he was joined by two or three other artists, living in nearby houses, the following year. Soon the Fiveways Group had formed. This exhibition shows the work of some of those early pioneers of Open Houses who all lived in the Fiveways area of Brighton; an area quite different then from now.

The accompanying oral history film hears from these artists about their reasons for inviting the public into their homes, what they learned and experienced; how their practices as artists changed as a result of a more direct dialogue with their audiences. 

Black and white photo of a group of fourteen people, one carrying a flag with the word 'open'.
Early Fiveways Group, courtesy Annelies Clarke

Exhibiting artists: Ned Hoskins, Annelies Clarke, Rex Matthews, Judy Stapleton, Harvey Daniels, Adrian Turner, Colin Ruffell and Fran Slade.

Current AOH artists: Towards the Light
Upstairs @The Regency Town House

Although in the early years the Open Houses movement was based solely in the Fiveways area, over the years it has grown to encompass all parts of the city, out to Ditchling and to several villages and towns across the Downs. It is a tribute is to the strength of Ned Hoskins’ original idea that the festival continues to build and flourish and is now in its 40th year.

The theme of this exhibition, Towards the Light, is taken from the title of one Of Ned Hoskins’ paintings. The exhibition invited submissions, connecting to the theme, from all artists taking part this year in the Artists Open Houses festival.

Painting showing view through car windscreen of yellow scenery and a car in the distance
Summer Light, Emily Jolley

Exhibiting artists: Becky Blair, Catriona Muir, Claire Knill, Emily Jolley, Laurence Wallace, Lucy Bristow, Miranda Ellis, Bob and Eve, Dion Salvador Lloyd, Eve Gnoyke, Abigail Bowen, Jon Mills, Kate Scott, Lucy Cooper, Mami Houlton, Melissa Birch, Jo Watters-Pawlowski, Ali Stringell, Sophie Wake, Kay Aplin, Amy Dury, Debbie Lawrence

University of Brighton students: Towards the Light
10 Brunswick Sq., basement housekeeper's room & servants’ hall

The exhibition at Regency Town House Basement features artworks by four current University of Brighton Fine Art course students. The artists employ a diversity of art practice forms when addressing the contemporary subjects of relationships, migration, workers value and considerations of identity.

Painting, background image of two boys, overlaid with red sunburst
Isaan, Sara Paowana

Sara Paowana investigates her Thai and British heritage in the slide and sound installation work Isaan. 

Melanie Woodward’s Omang series uses fingerprints as a form of self-portraiture to explore and reclaim identity in response to nationality renunciation.

Finn Gayton‘s interactive, live performance installation, Lorry Boy, comments on the sociological and political themes of employment relationships and the commodification of people. Performances: Saturdays and Sundays: 11am – 1pm, 2 – 3pm and 3.30 – 5pm

Megan Ryan‘s wax casts of feet in Journey, depict the cycle of a relationship. The wax feet come together, walk in unison and drift apart. 

Emerging artists: Towards the Light 
10 Brunswick Sq., basement kitchen

Ned Hoskins believed in encouraging young artists. He was an inspirational tutor and took the work of young artists very seriously, inviting students and fellow artists’ children to exhibit in his Open House. Nurturing the next generation of artists was crucial.

Reflecting Ned’s concern, this exhibition invited artists just setting out on their creative practices to submit work connecting to the theme Towards the Light. A title taken from one of Ned Hoskins’ paintings.

In recognition of the difficulties that the last two years has brought to exhibition making, especially for those in the early stages of their careers, this exhibition seeks to showcase new or recent works by emerging artists in the Brighton and Hove area, reflecting ways in which they have continued to create and push boundaries despite recent challenges.

All the artists exhibiting in this exhibition are within the first three years of developing their practice.

Painting, a largely dark canvas with a single small building illuminated at its centre
Shelter (Night), Jack Shearing

Exhibiting artists: Jack Shearing, Jemma Day, Louise Ward Morris, Charlotte Graham-Spouge, Mitchell Robertson, Heather Curwen, Danit Ariel, Hazel Davis.

Website: https://aoh.org.uk/

 

Festival of Art, Craft & History
Friday 17th - Saturday 18th June
Be inspired by two days of craft, art and history workshops, all led by experts in their own field, all of whom are donating their time and knowledge to support The Regency Town House. 

Re-Love your Pre-Loved!
Friday 17th June, 10.30am to 1:00pm, book on Eventbrite
Photo of denim top decorated with buttons and fabric patches
Create your own wearable art by learning how to embellish plain clothes to achieve a new look you’ll love.

Start Your Family Tree and Make it Grow
Friday 17th June, 11:00am to 1.30pm, book on Eventbrite
Drawing of tree with name places on the branches
Family History with a professional genealogist aimed at beginners and those who want to fill in the gaps in their family tree.

Making your own Regency Reticule
Friday 17th June, 1.30pm to 4:00pm, book on Eventbrite
Photo of sample of needlework, with cotton and scissors
The Wardrobe Department will help you make an essential accessory for any fashionable Regency lady – materials provided.

Writing The Biography of your Family - bring your own family past to life
Friday 17th June, 2:00pm to 4.30pm, book on Eventbrite
Photo of old photographs in a wooden box
Turn your research into a non-fiction story you can share. Families are fascinating: their lives, times and adventures deserve to be recorded.

Drama in the Dining Room - bringing history to life through drama
Friday 17th June, 6:00pm to 8:00pm, book on Eventbrite
Coloured etching depicting two men and two women dancing in Regency costume
Join a fun acting workshop for warm-up exercises, freeze frames scenes and the opportunity to develop storytelling techniques. Beginners very welcome. Minimum age 16

Writing Historical Fiction - the first steps
Saturday 18th June, 11:00am to 1.30pm, book on Eventbrite
Photo of a selection of historical fiction books
The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like - E. L.Doctorow.
Join this introductory workshop and allow your love for history inspire your writing - suitable for beginners and experienced writers

Parent and Child Art Classes – Regency themed
Saturday 18th June, 10.30am to 12:00, book on Eventbrite
Overhead photo showing a child's hands holding coloured crayon and surrounded by art equipment
This fun 90 minutes life drawing session is a child friendly version of the adult costumed life drawing class.

Regency Costumed Life Drawing Workshop
Saturday 18th June, 2pm to 4.30pm, book on Eventbrite
Photo of three women in Regency costume
Bring the Regency era to life in this unique drawing workshop

Quilling Workshop
Saturday 18th June, 2:00pm to 4.30pm, book on Eventbrite
Photo of quilling, white paper on a dark background
Learn a simple paper craft that was popular in Georgian times and go home with your own beautiful two-dimensional design that you can use to decorate any flat surface.

 

Regency Delights: dance workshop
Saturday 25th June, 2:00pm - 4:00pm, tickets on Eventbrite

Step back in time and learn some delightful Regency dances before being treated to an exquisite Regency tea.

The esteemed Mr. Adams and Miss Field will prepare you for the most fashionable of balls in Brighton by guiding you through the simplest of steps in order to bring your dancing to perfection.

Photograph of two women in Regency costume, peering over the top of their fans

Engage in refined and agreeable conversation about etiquette, the language of fans and the splendour of the assembly rooms. After your wonderful dance instruction, you will then indulge in a well-earned tea supplied by our magnificent cook, Mr.Couchman, ‘The Regency Cook’.

The entire event will be held in 1831; we hope you will then be able to fully immerse yourself in the Regency period and will remain so throughout the afternoon. You are welcome to dress up for the event or just come as you are. A dance partner is not necessary but do bring a fan if you have one.

More information and contacts can be found us via our website: www.regencydelights.co.uk

 

Literary Day
Sunday 26th June, tickets will be available on Eventbrite

Book Talk
An afternoon with authors Sue Teddern and Kate Harrison.

A evening with Shelley
Join us for an evening celebrating the life and death of the infamous Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Painting showing Shelley sitting on a wall, with a quill in his hand and a notebook on his knee, in the background are building ruins and distant hills

The moderator thought they were hosting a panel 'celebrating' Percy Shelly’s life but, with the appearance of the late Shelley himself, the evening will take a dramatic if sometimes comic turn.

 

Greater Brighton Metropolitan College Graduate Show
Thursday 30th June - Sunday 3rd July, admission free, times TBA
The exhibition showcases the work of the graduating students from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College 2022.

The diverse mix of work represents BA (Hons) Photography, BA (Hons) Textile Design, BA (Hons) Fashion Design, BA (Hons) Communication Design (Graphics & Illustration) and BA (Hons Fine Art).

 

Exhibition - Textile Artwork
Friday 8th - Sunday 10th July, admission free, times TBA
Our traditional summer show of vibrant and imaginative textile artworks, brought to you by the students of the Brighton Fashion and Textile School, where their City & Guilds accredited course is led and inspired by the founder of the school, Sara Cook.

Hand stitched work depicting fern-like forms against a patchwork background of orange and green fabrics
Textile artwork, Elizabeth Ganney

Website: Brighton Fashion and Textile School

 

Exhibition - HOME
A group show by students at the RCA
Thursday 14th - Sunday 17th July, 11:00am-5:00pm, admission free

This year’s graduates from the Painting MA at the RCA, along with continuing students, and fellow guest artists, have chosen this space to show contemporary art practice using painting, drawing, and installation.

Home is an emotive space, never neutral. Home has the power to calm and the power to disturb. Safety, security, imprisonment, limitations, family, solitude, comfort; home can be all these things and more.

Abstract portrait depicting the profile of a head outlined in red, with a hand outlined in blue grey touching the forehead, all on a patchy grey background
She, Emily Stevens 2021, oil and acrylic on wood

This collective of artists will be creating a temporary home of our own, together; a new home for our work, with an intention to provoke questions, a sense of connection, a feeling of cohesion, and possibilities, within this show.

The artists - RCA MA Painting graduates, students and guests:
Emily Stevens
Anna Blom
Sarah Nahas
Hannah Campbell-Wharam
Lara Davies
Megan Menzies
Hilda Kortei
Tristan Gittens
Alexis Soul-Gray
Jesse Leroy Smith
Emily Ball
Lucianna Whittle

 

Exhibition - Graham Read
Saturday 23rd - Sunday 31st July, 11:00am - 5:00pm (4:00pm Sunday) admission free
A retrospective exhibition of work from the archive of this prolific artist, ranging from large, arresting compositions on canvas to beautifully observed drawings in chalk, ink, and watercolour.

Graham Read was a talented artist, and inspiring teacher, whose work deserves being celebrated in this iconic setting - a building he visited in the past, and a part of Brighton and Hove that was very familiar to him.

Abstract painting featuring a tree branch in blossom, a lump of ice, a patch of purple rain and and area of fire.
Fire and Ice, Graham Ruskin Read

Graham Read was a talented artist, and inspiring teacher, whose work deserves being celebrated in this iconic setting – a building he visited in the past, and a part of Brighton and Hove that was very familiar to him.

 

Exhibition - Echoes of Summer
by Camilla Perkins
Saturday 13th - Wednesday 17th August, 11:00am - 6:00pm. admission free

Lewes-based artist and illustrator Camilla Perkins will transform The Regency Town House into a world of her own for her first solo-show, Echoes of Summer.

Camilla has developed a very distinctive style, a riot of colour and expressive mark-making, which is joyous to its very core. Her depictions of gardens, flowers and seascapes are inspired by her childhood experiences and local surroundings around East Sussex, as well as memories of summer holidays in the Mediterranean and beyond.

Abstract painting of flowers in vivid reds, oranges and purples
Orchid House at Sunset (detail), Camilla Perkins

The show is an ode to the feelings of hope, excitement and nostalgia that summer brings. Camilla invites the viewer to “conjure the smell of freshly cut flowers from the garden, the feeling of running through the undergrowth as a child, the smell of hot earth - to step into a world where anything seems possible”. 

Detail of colourful abstract painting, showing view through open doors to garden beyond
Orchid House in Moonlight (detail), Camilla Perkins

This immersive show will be set to the backdrop of the spectacular crumbling paint layers and historical flourishes that The Regency Town House offers, with the view of the Brighton coastline and the smell of sea air.

“Growing up in Brighton I spent my childhood visiting these beautiful regency buildings and after visiting The Regency Town House I couldn’t think of another venue that would complement my work more. I wanted the viewer to be able to experience my pieces in a more eccentric setting than a modern gallery space.”

Website: http://www.camillaperkins.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camillaperkins_/

 

Heritage Open Days
Friday 9th - Sunday 18th September, admission free, times TBA
A programme of free events, tours and talks - our contribution to the annual, nationwide celebration of our built heritage.

to include

History Day - QueenSpark Books - 50th anniversary
Saturday 17th September, admission free, times TBA
A book-launch and exhibition to celebrate fifty years of this volunteer-led publishing institution. Local history groups invite you to join them to toast QueenSpark Books and and discover more about our city in the past, featuring Black History Group, Women's History Group and our own Town House Research Team.

Black and white photo showing children and teachers in a schoolroom, circa 1910
Pelham Street School, c.1910, courtesy of B&HCC

Website: QueenSpark Books
Website: Black History Group
Website: Women's History Group

 

Town House Voices, 
Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th September, tickets will be available on Eventbrite
A promenade theatre production set in 1833-1834, a period of political change and upheaval.

Exhibition - Brighton Photo Fringe
Saturday 1st - Sunday 30th October, admission free, dates & times TBA
The bi-annual exploration of photography in all its wonderful, bizarre and experimental forms.

Exhibition - Kathryn Lang
Wednesday 2nd - Sunday 6th November, admission free, dates & times TBA
more to follow

Exhibition - Lily Rigby & Amy McMillan
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th November, admission free, dates & times TBA
more to follow

Exhibition - Jacqui Painter & Friends
Wednesday 16th - Sunday 20th November, admission free, dates & times TBA
more to follow

 

 

Looking back at 2021

Many thanks to all the artists and makers who exhibited here and helped to transform the Covid-gloom into a summer and autumn of texture and colour. And an especially big 'thank you' to all the visitors who came out to see the work and support the artists and the Town House. Your presence here was much appreciated!

If you missed any of the shows then use the link below to catch up.

Previous exhibitions