Dovecote Street Arts

11/06/2026

📸Well! That's a wrap!

Yesterday Jim & I took the exhibition down and tomorrow will see the artists starting to return to collect their work from us. I often liken exhibitions to Icebergs, in that there is much beneath the surface that goes into making the bit above the waterline (or on the walls) visible. Exhibitions like this are a huge exercise in logistics!

It will also be great to see many of the works exhibited head off to their new homes. We are really grateful to the members of the public that have supported the work of local artists by buying original art.

We've loved every moment of it and it has truly been a pleasure welcoming each and every one of you across the threshold! To round things off, we thought we'd share some of the friendly faces that took part in our exhibition, the artists alongside their artworks! We're also really appreciative of all of the participating artists that volunteered their time to invigilate the exhibition, it's truly been a team effort!

A reminder that you can join us for our next Crit (the 4th last one!) on Tuesday 30th June to see some of these characters and their work!

06/06/2026

📣Last day! A reminder that tomorrow is the last day of our latest exhibition ‘Amble, Northumberland, England’! Thanks to the over 400 of you that have visited so far! Especially to those of you that have bought works, we’ve seen red dots on nearly 1/3 of the artworks!

📹Fret not if you haven’t managed to get along yet, or equally if you have visited and wanted to learn more about the works on display, I’ve been down with Jim this afternoon recording a special film piece documenting the show. Jim will edit it together and we’ll make this ‘curators tour’ available on our YouTube channel in the next couple of weeks!

04/06/2026

📸Was fantastic to welcome the Amble WI for a visit & guided tour to our 'Amble, Northumberland, England' exhibition yesterday! Always a warm reception from this bunch, I spent time talking the group through the nearly 70 artworks on display, sharing some of the various stories behind the pieces. Just a reminder that you've got until this Sunday to see the exhibition, which has seen over 400 visitors now in just this short period!

28/05/2026

📸Thanks to everyone who came along to this month's Crit on Tuesday!

As those of you who were there heard, Jim & I have made the decision that September's Crit - which will mark 3 years since we first began these events, will be our last & final one.

It's been a great laugh over the past 3 years hearing from you all, exploring ideas & your work as a community, however there's no avoiding the fact that it is an enormous amount of work behind the scenes - all of which is voluntary and unpaid on the part of me and Jim. We've kept it up as long as we can, but both feel 3 years is a good run and that there is merit in quitting whilst we are ahead.

The Crit has generated a tremendous community - and it's now up to you lot how you take things forward. I know some of you already have ideas and both Jim & I look forward to seeing how they develop and where they lead. We do feel confident that the fantastic, positive & warm community that has been generated won't dissipate.

An enormous thanks to those of you who have taken part in our current open exhibition. We had well over 100 people through the door at the opening night and have seen a further 200 visitors since Saturday. You have got until Sunday 7th June to see it.

27/05/2026

📰Huge thanks to journalist Tony Henderson for this fabulous feature in yesterdays Journal! Well done to winners, Andrew Holder, Carmen Gordon & Marjorie Firth who's work is featured in the article on Page 10.

25/05/2026

🎨LAOTY Competition!

We had such a fantastic time on Sunday for the Annual Amble Puffin Festival Landscape Artist of the Year competition, which saw 8 artists competing for the title!

Top prize went to Janet Moloney for her winning watercolour painting of the dredger moored outside the Harbour Commissioners building, with Angi Hodges in second for her atmospheric sketch of the old staithes and North Pier and John Tuff in third for his evocative mixed media piece depicting the Little Shore and pier.

Big well done to all of the participants and a special thank you to the judges; artists Katherine Rousselange & Ted Taylor and Harbour Master, Gary Paxton. Particular thanks go out to our competition sponsors The Old Boat House Food Group for their gift vouchers, and to the Coquet Shorebase Trust for their gift voucher.

Details in captions. I couldn’t manage to grab a photo of Angi with her piece as she was on duty at the RNLI shop but there’s a photo of her piece in there!

23/05/2026

📰Thanks to journalist Tony Henderson for this great feature on our new exhibition in ! Read via the link below, ft. artists Andrew Holder, Carmen Gordon, Marjorie Firth, Anthea Wood & Antony Beal.

https://www.culturednortheast.co.uk/p/northumberland-open-call-exhibition

23/05/2026

💵We'd like to say a huge thank you to the Alnmouth Arts Festival committee for their grant of £400 towards the core costs of putting on our exhibition! Here are committee members and festival organisers Jayne Billington & Helen Holden at last night's opening.

23/05/2026

📰Thanks to journalist Tony Henderson for this great feature on our new exhibition in Cultured. North East! Read via the link below, ft. artists Andrew Holder, Carmen Gordon, Marjorie Firth, Anthea Wood & Antony Beal.

Artists look at national issues through a local lens. Tony Henderson reports

22/05/2026

📸It's Open!

Well, a HUGE thank you to everyone who turned out tonight to come along to the opening of our new exhibition 'Amble, Northumberland, England'. We had over 100 people through the door and were treated to such a good vibe! So much warmth & positivity all round. Dovecote Street Arts has foremostly always been about creating opportunities for artists and we're thrilled to be exhibiting these 70 amazing artworks by 48 artists from all across the North East.

A special thanks to Cllr. Wendy Pattison, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism at Northumberland County Council for her speech and announcement of the prize winners. As well as to Lord-Lieutenant Caroline Pryer for attending as HM's official representative in the county.

We would like to say a huge congratulations to the following artists who we felt went above and beyond in meeting the brief with their brilliant artworks and who Jim & I wanted to recognise as prizewinners. They are:

Overall Winner - Andrew Holder for 'Excerpts (New Amble Floodstation, 2062)'
Highly Commended - Carmen Gordon for 'The heart of Amble?
Highly Commended - Marjorie Firth for 'Changing Skyline'

So, the exhibition is open to the public from 11am tomorrow and will run 11am-3pm everyday until Sunday 7th June. I'll be down at the Dovecote Centre tomorrow morning giving a guided tour of the artworks if you'd like to learn more about each of the works on display and that will be running from 12noon for approximately 45 minutes. It's also Puffin Festival weekend and you can pick up your free programme at all prominent locations around the town, there's a huge variety on offer and it looks set to be a warm one!