Brian May's 'Village Lost and Found' comes to Settle

On November 4th a new exhibition will launch, featuring selections from Brian May's (ex Queen guitarist) and Elena Vidal's new book 'A Village Lost and Found'. For more information see the London Stereoscopic Company website. To coincide with the opening, Brian and Elena will give a presentation at Settle's Victoria Hall on the same day.

Rural craft villages in Vietnam

From September to November 2010, we will feature work by Yorkshire-based, internationally acclaimed photographer Tessa Bunney. Tessa has travelled widely and built a reputation on her particular interest in different landscapes and how they are shaped by activity. Between September 2006 and May 2008 she spent two six month periods in Vietnam, exploring the suburbs and villages around the capital city of Hanoi. Around 75% of Vietnamese people currently live in the countryside, but as Vietnam moves towards urbanisation, the country's agricultural labour force faces the prospect of losing its land (and its way of life) to urban projects. Families are sustaining themsleves by turning increasingly to the creation of various products in rural areas. These 'craft villages' have become the meeting place between rural and urban, agriculture and industry. Tessa's vivid images capture the details of daily life with great insight.

Midnight Visions

Our summer exhibition features stunning photographs of moths taken using a specially developed technique by photographer Jim des Rivieres. For more information about Jim's photography, see http://www.moths.ca/.

An exhibition dedicated to the art of good humour

A new exhibition opens today, 8th May, put together by curator Julie Sobczak. It not only includes cartoons by professional artists, but also offers visitors the opportunity to enter the cartoon caption competition and add their own joke, story, cartoon etc. The exhibition will run until the end of the month.

Poetry exhibition by the Word Birds

The WORD BIRDS Poetry Showcase, a national women poets' network originating in Settle, are currently staging an exhibition of members' work at the Gallery on the Green. Described as 'a flock of women poets who perform UK wide, taking a bird's eye view of human relationships, the Word Birds aim to showcase women's poetry both through UK-wide readings and (from 1st July) online, giving opportunities that are otherwise hard to come by for newer poets to read alongside established ones.

The Settle exhibition will also provide a 'guest slot' for anyone who wishes to place their postcard-sized poem into the exhibition. More information can be obtained by emailing bird@thewordbirds.net.

Settle Photographers exhibit

This month's exhibition features local members of the Settle Photography Group. The group formed in September 2008 and meet on the third Monday of each month in the Friends' Meeting House. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in photography - see their website for more information.

This exhibition features a range of images of local scenery, people and images that reflect the varied tastes of the contributors. It will be open until March 28th.

Winter wonderland

A new exhibition went up last weekend, featuring work done by a group of amaeur artists attending a workshop run by local artists Jaki Bogg and Sue Mackay. The theme is very appropriately on views and images of winter. The artists have used a range of media, including felt, collage and textiles.

'I am proud to be'

We recently exhibited a wonderful collection of cards from children of the Westminster Academy, an international business and enterprise academy. The intake is incredibly multi-cultural, multi-lingual and diverse with 89% of the students speaking English as an additional language. The exhibition was done as part of a Year 9 (13 year olds) project, with students drawing or painting an image about the country they felt associated with. Students also wrote something about themselves on the backs of the cards, making a fascinating record.