My second year organizing The Friends of Holland Park Art Exhibition was as eventful and exciting as my first. This year the standard of work was very impressive and despite attendance being down, largely due to bad weather, we managed to match last year’s sales. Next year the exhibition is at the beginning of April so there is a chance of better weather, but this is England. At least we can depend on the Orangery being a riot of colour and creativity. This year a number of new initiatives were put in place and I am pleased to report that they will be incorporated in next year’s exhibition.
Sponsorship We are very grateful to Killik & Co for sponsoring our art exhibition for the first time in its history. This sponsorship enabled us to advertise in some local papers, offer a free catalogue to all visitors and print a beautiful colour poster advertising the event. Killik & Co have agreed to sponsor us again next year and it is lovely to have them on board. My personal thanks to Fabrizio D’Argiolas who has left the Kensington branch; we look forward to working with Julian Chester on next year’s exhibition.
Feature Artist This was a great success and beginning the tradition with a timely tribute to an old president, Sir Hugh Casson. Next year we plan to have larger panels to display the work of the feature artist who will be announced in the spring newsletter. As a result of the Hugh Casson tribute the Casson Family would like to continue their involvement in the art exhibition, donating a prize in their father’s name, The Hugh Casson Prize for Drawing, the winner of which will receive a framed limited edition print of Casson’s Lord Holland drawing.
The credit card facility was a success. Credit cards made up 85% of the transactions and made the general administration much more streamline. The free catalogue was another excellent initiative which we plan to repeat next year. This brings me to an important point – late entries: I am sorry but the acceptance of late entries does not work, either for the artist or for the administration of the exhibition and, I think you will agree, it looks unprofessional. Next year, all forms must be with me by Friday 7 March. There will be no exception (and no extensions) to this rule.
The raffle, which was made possible by the generous donations of local businesses, was well supported and we intend to grow on this next year. There was also a new layout in the Orangery which gave the space a better feel and flow and seemed to be appreciated by both the visitors and artists.
Now to the 2014 exhibition. As always we need to know of any volunteers who wish to be stewards so that we can organize a rota. The exhibition will be hung by Alison Beckett with the assistance of Tony Walker, and we welcome back our regular judge Isabel Langtry. There will again be one private view, on Friday 4 April. Artists are given five complimentary tickets for the private view; additional tickets can be bought for £3 each.
The conditions of entry remain unchanged from previous years. Friends who are artists and artists who become Friends are invited to exhibit up to ten works: two framed works to hang on the walls and up to eight unframed works for display in the portfolio stands with a maximum size of 70 x 100cm (including mounts, but no wooden mounts, please). Friends are also invited to exhibit up to ten three-dimensional objects such as ceramics, glassware and small sculptures or enter the mini-mart of small works on offer at £40 and under, including cards and craft items. The minimum price for works in the main exhibition will be £50.
Friends interested in exhibiting in the art exhibition, the mini-mart or both need to register by downloading and filling in the order form and pay the £10 entry fee. Please note that artists who have registered for the main exhibition may also include small works in the mini-mart at no additional cost. Completed registration forms should be sent to Rhoddy Wood as soon as possible because space is limited and when enough artists have registered we cannot accept any more.
An enormous amount of work was done this year to improve the presentation and administration of the exhibition, to maximize exposure and increase the sale of artworks. Unfortunately the weather was against us and we had rain, sleet and a brutal wind almost every day. Attendance was down on past years but we still managed to make a profit thanks to the high quality of the artwork and a few new initiatives.
The Friends of Holland Park (FHP) art exhibition obtained its first sponsor this year, Killik & Co., the long-established investment and wealth advisors located at 281 Kensington High Street. Aside from being excellent financial consultants the Kensington branch of Killik & Co. are extremely community-minded and supportive of The Friends of Holland Park. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fabrizio Argiolas and his team and encourage The Friends to support Killik & Co. as they have supported us.
This year we introduced a Feature Artist, and the FHP chose to honour Sir Hugh Casson – a past president of The Friends who organized the first FHP art exhibition 31 years ago. With the generous support and co-operation of the Casson family and the Royal Academy of Arts, whose Sir Hugh Casson PRA: Making Friends exhibition opened on 31 May, the FHP were able to stage a small tribute to Casson’s architectural work in Holland Park namely the renovation of the east wing of Holland House after it was bombed during the Second World War, and the building of the youth hostel as well as a selection of his Kensington drawings. The Casson family kindly allowed us to reproduce Sir Hugh’s wonderful watercolour of the Lord Holland statue in the park for our poster and catalogue which gave the exhibition a beautiful continuity. We were sorry that Isabel Langtry was unable to judge this year’s exhibition but were very grateful to Dr Neil Bingham, an architectural historian and curator of the Royal Academy’s Hugh Casson exhibition, for agreeing to take her place.
There were some changes to the layout of the exhibition this year which I feel took more advantage of the space and allowed an easier flow for visitors. Once again Alison Beckett rose to the daunting task of hanging over 150 paintings in record time, for which we are most grateful. This year the FHP could accept credit cards as payment and, as 85% of the sales were credit-card transactions, this was obviously a success. Thanks to our sponsor, Killik & Co., the catalogues were free of charge for visitors. We received generous support from local businesses who donated wonderful prizes for our raffle, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Belvedere Restaurant, Daunt Books, Gallery 19, Lidgate, Maison Blanc and Jeroboams. Finally I would like to thank all the artists for the high quality of work they submitted, the stewards and the trustees for their time during the exhibition, an extra special thank-you to Joy for her exceptional work on the catalogue and last, but not least, all the visitors who braved the weather to support the exhibition.
The preparations for this year’s art exhibition are coming along extremely well and we are looking forward to an excellent show. As you are aware, this year we are featuring an artist within the exhibition: the late Sir Hugh Casson, our past president and the architect responsible for the youth hostel and the restoration of part of Holland House after it was bombed during the war.
Casson was born and lived in London for most of his life as a practising architect. He had a long and illustrious career in the arts including President of the Royal Academy of Arts from 1976-84. The Friends of Holland Park have obtained the full cooperation of the Casson family and the Royal Academy of Arts who are holding an exhibition of Casson’s work in May. Our tribute will focus on Casson’s work in Holland Park – on Holland House and the hostel – as well as a selection of his drawings of Holland Park and Kensington.
This year we are getting greater exposure and publicity for the exhibition, and the support we are receiving from local publications and the press is most encouraging. In addition to this more posters are being printed and distributed throughout the borough. As you are aware, the catalogue this year is free and, as promised, a credit card facility will be in the the Orangery during the exhibition which should increase sales. We are also expecting to raise more money for The Friends with a raffle, the winners of which will receive wonderful prizes donated by local businesses. We hope you will support The Friends of Holland Park by visiting our exhibition, and look forward to seeing you there.
Fri 15 March, 8-11am Artists deliver work to the Orangery, Holland Park.
Fri 15 March, 11am–6pm Works will be hung/displayed and judged.
Fri 15 March, 7.30pm Private View and awarding of prizes, entry by ticket at £3. Five free tickets for each artist.
Artists and buyers collect their works after the exhibition on Sunday, 24 March, 6–7.30pm and Monday, 25 March, 9–11am.
No works can be collected before 6pm on Sunday, 24 March as this would spoil the exhibition for others.