Coming Up
The Harpur Trust Art Competition
An exhibition of Children's Work
20 June - 27 September 2026
Sir William Harpur Gallery - Free Entry
The Schools’ Art Competition funded by The Harpur Trust, featuring more than 100 pieces of artwork created by pupils from schools across the borough, will run throughout the summer. The children aged 4 to 18, will be creating their artwork during the Autumn and Spring terms at workshops from professional visiting artists in their schools, organised by The Trust. The theme for the 2026 exhibition is Aspire: Nurturing Potential, based on their aspirations, goals, dreams, hopes and what they want to be or do in life. This may be looking ahead to the year, before they go to secondary school, when they leave school, or even later in life.
Further information please see Art Competition - Harpur Trust.
Detail from Lovelies 1945 by Edward Bawden © The Edward Bawden Estate
Edward Bawden - Snails for All
Opens 23 May 2026
Edward Bawden Gallery - Free Entry
In 1945, after returning from his duties as a War Artist in the Middle East, Edward Bawden wrote and illustrated a book about snails for his two young children called ‘Snails for All’. Last year The Higgins Bedford was gifted this amazing book for The Edward Bawden Archive. To celebrate this new acquisition the exhibition, of the same name, will display each page of the book alongside other works from the collection. There will also be artwork inspired by the book by children from Putnoe Primary School made in collaboration with local artist Philippa McDonald from Creative Days.
Frontispiece for Venus and Tannhauser 1895 by Aubrey Beardlsey
Rhyme and Reason
25 September 2026 - February 2027
Wixamtree and Connections Gallery - Free Entry
Discover the influence of stories on artists in this new exhibition drawn from the internationally renowned Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Collection. Greek myths and Shakespearian stories, Arthurian legends and poetry will all be explored in the works of artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, Paula Rego, Henry Moore, Ceri Richards and Henri Matisse.