Summer Exhibitions Celebration

Join us as we launch our new season of exhibitions with gallery tours, artist talks and a variety of craft workshops suitable for all the family.

Craft Workshops: 10:30am – 12:30pm

There’s something for all ages, with all materials supplied and all for free! Children under 12 must be supervised by an adult. First come first served. You may be expected to wait until a space at a craft table becomes available.

Art Box – Make it! Craft Workshop
Create your own plaster model

Library – Construction Club
Design a LEGO landscape in a picture frame

Foyer – Selfie Workshop with photographer Faye Héran
Delivered in partnership with Open Eye Gallery

Exhibition tours: From 2pm

Gordon Cheung in his studio with Chinese Scholar Rock sculptures

Meet the artists and curators behind The Atkinson’s new season of exhibitions.

Principal Manager Stephen Whittle introduces highlights from The Atkinson’s and the Harris Art Gallery’s collections of narrative paintings in The Story So Far.

Artist Gordon Cheung introduces his new solo exhibition, The Garden of Perfect Brightness.

An introduction to Blue and White Pottery, from China to the Willow Pattern and beyond, with curator Jemma Tynan.

Summer Exhibitions

Free Entry. Monday – Saturday. 10am – 4pm.
Closed Sundays & Bank Holidays.

The Story So Far

27 May 2023 – 2 March 2024
Looking at the theme of storytelling, this exhibition includes highlights from The Atkinson’s and the Harris Art Gallery’s collections of narrative paintings.

: Bird Scaring – March (1896) by George Clausen (1852–1944). Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston.

Gordon Cheung: Garden of Perfect Brightness

3 June – 9 September 2023
A poetic exploration of the relationship between nature, culture, and power in the digital age. Constructed around the concept of a Chinese garden, paintings and sculptures contemplate the rise and fall of civilisations in the age of globalisation.

: Gordon Cheung, Engraved Moon and Unfolding Clouds, 2023. Financial newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic and sand on linen. 150 x 200cm.

Herbert Ponting: Explorer and Photographer

10 June – 2 September 2023
An incredible life story told through photographs on loan from Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, alongside artefacts and research carried out by biographer Anne Strathie.

: DETAIL – Herbert Ponting and cinematograph. January 1912. Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge.

Blue and White Pottery: From China to The Willow Pattern and Beyond

17 June – 28 October 2023
A showcase of The Atkinson’s historic blue and white pottery collection, reflecting on the ongoing fascination with The Willow Pattern and blue and white decoration