Art Pals at the Bottoms Rest, Hove
This spring I’m helping organise a small exhibition called Art Pals at the Bottoms Rest in Hove, as part of the Brighton Fringe.
The exhibition brings together prints and small original artworks by artists who are connected through friendship, curiosity and shared interests. It’s a very simple idea: art made by people who know each other, support each other, and enjoy the camaraderie that often grows around creative work.
There is also something quite lovely about the thought that many of the artists in the show might actually live very close to you. In fact, you probably live within 100 metres of one of them without even knowing it. The exhibition is a small introduction to the creative energy quietly bubbling away around us. Each piece can be seen as a little window into the work and imagination of its maker.
The venue itself is The Bottom’s Rest, a pub tucked just behind The Old Market, which is one of the main Fringe venues. Because of that location we are hoping plenty of visitors will wander in during the festival.
The pub is run by Kathy from Brighton Gin, and it has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, good food and excellent drinks — exactly the kind of place where art on the walls feels perfectly at home.
I’m coordinating the show with my friend Mike, and we’ve invited a group of artists whose work we admire and whose company we enjoy. The idea is deliberately modest: small artworks, all framed in the same frames, creating a simple and cohesive display. Each piece will be smaller than A4, with a small mount around it.
Any revenue from the show will go to good causes, including International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières, though we are open to other suggestions too.
The exhibition will be installed in mid-April, and we’re planning a friendly gathering at the pub on Tuesday 5 May from 7–9pm.
As the title suggests, this is really a show about art pals. So far the artists involved include:
Xinchu Zhang
Tony Mentel
Tiffany Lynch
Scarlett Rebecca
Stuart Bullen
Simon Martin
Sarah Arnnett
Polly Arnett
Paulina Anzorge and Pascal Dowers
Norman Coates
Neal Cavalier-Smith
Mark – Pump Room Café
Mackenzie Scott Clowes
Lisa Bamford
Lauren Murphy
Judy Stevens
Dee Ferris
David Harkins
Charlie Doodle
Antony
Anniek Verholt
Amy Douglas
Alex Bamford
It should be a warm and friendly little show — a celebration of art, friendship and the creative community around us.