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.

Award winning photographer Eamonn McCabe exhibits at the Gallery on the Green

The Gallery on the Green's first exhibition of professional art is by the award winning photographer Eamonn McCabe, well known for his work as a sports photographer and picture editor. His natural curiosity about individuals who work alone evolved into a wide ranging series of photographs of writer's rooms that appeared each weekend in The Guardian. Eamonn selected and printed a show especially for us, including gems such as the working spaces of such eminent authors as Edna O'Brien, Rose Tremain, Clive James and our local hero Bill Bryson.

Gallery wins BT Regional Award!

We are proud to report that The Gallery on the Green won the Yorkshire and Humber BT competition for adopted phone boxes. BT's area manager Mark Johnson and publicity manager Amy Walker arrived yesterday (Wednesday) with a cheque for £1000 to go to the community. Cultivating Settle Chairman Marion Armstrong, along with Curator Roger Taylor and Artistic director Mike Crompton received the cheque and thanked BT for their support. Marion thanked all the people involved in making the phone box such a success and a real credit to Settle.

More about Settle

If you are thinking of visiting Settle, you might like to see more about the local area. Mark Dale of Settle Festival Ltd has made a video of some of the recent projects. It includes our new riverside walk, footage of building works at Settle Hydro (our new renewable energy station), the recent cycling festival in summer 2009 and some local volunteer work done by Cultivating Settle. The video is on YouTube and can be found at this link.