Open Shows at View: April 2009

View Nottingham 11th -21st March 2009

View's last Open Show. An Open Exhibition & Sale - featuring views of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire from its creative community.

View from the Top presented an exhibition showcasing a diverse and eclectic selection of local artistic talent in our last open exhibition View Nottingham. The aim of the show was to provide opportunities for aspiring artists to exhibit their work and to give the public the chance to view, and purchase exciting new work viewing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire as its subject.

View Nottingham exhibited a wide-ranging look at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire through the eyes and work of its many creatives! It also brought together a range of designer makers in a 'Made in Nottingham' market.

With over 45 artists involved in the exhibition, the exhibition was full with something to please every viewer. Take a look at our blog for the exhibition to find out more.

Image above - Jamie B Edwards - www.urban-colours.co.uk

Green & Organic 08 3rd - 13th September 2008

2008's Green & Organic eco extravaganza was a green frenzy! Our opening night & fashion show was a foray of green love & we managed to raise over £150 for Music4Children a charity helping to build sustainable orphanages for street children in Nepal. BBC's Penney Poyzer stepped in to host the fashion show, she is also the patron of Music4Children.

The night saw fashions from Oxfam, Kathleen & lily's, The fancy Pants Parade, Savvy Style, Rhea Clements, Fresh Cargo & Hanna Randall! 28 hairstylists kindly did the hair for us, whilst Clare Gregory did the make up - thank you!

Thanks to the wonderful food suppliers - Dotty's Cafe on Mansfield Road & The Screaming Carrot on Foxhall road, AND not forgetting the wonderful goodie bags from the Green Box Shop!!

Visit our blog for more details and photographs of all the people, artists and groups involved.

Fresh Art & Design 2 23rd July - 30th August 2008

Fresh Art and Design returned, with a new range of local fresh talent.

An open exhibition featuring some of the best art and design work from the Midlands! The 6 winners (as voted by you and a select panel) were awarded another opportunity in the gallery in the form of a smaller group exhibition of their latest work entitled Six - click here for more info about the Winners show!

The opening night was a hot affair, literally, with plenty of smoothies & wine gulped down! The exhibition looks great, and the talent really showed, especially in the comments made by visitors! We were proud to offer this opportunity to create a platform for emerging artistic talents in the Midlands.

Visit our blog for more information about the emerging talent in our 2008 show.

Cover Versions 14th - 31st May 2008

Handcut, stitched, painted, collage, political satire - how many ways can 14 creatives reinterprete the humble record sleeve?

The answer is many! We asked visitors to vote for their favourite artist, the prize being a week's solo exhibition in our small gallery. Over 300 people voted and Trak Smith emerged as winner, but the voting was so close, we've decided to award Lois Cordelia Bulow-Osborne a week too.

To find out more about the entries and artists involved visit our blog here.

Illuminating Illustrators 17th April - 9th May

Illustrators are often overlooked when it comes to exciting exhibition opportunities, yet illustrators combine art, design and creative skills to produce often very distinctive styles.

Our new exhibition proved this with a varied selection of Illustrations, from delicate watercolours to stylised line drawings. There were illustrative works to suit every viewer including graphic compelling illustrative paintings from Todd Wood.

The show included some amazingly detailed imaginary maps; natural and military history illustrations and the yellow submarine on its way to exhibition in Liverpool, City of culture 2008!

Find out more by visiting our blog with details of the Illustrators involved.

Art previously hidden from view! Exhibition & Sale 12th - 29th March 2008

We put a call out to find those art treasures that people have hidden away in their studios, attics, garages or under the bed! They could belong to artists, to secret artists that have never revealed their work to others, or to owners of artwork that no longer has a place in their home.

What we unearthed is spectacular local talent. Exhibitors range from a 16 year old new photographer (we're definitely going to be watching this guy make his mark in the future!) unseen work from some of our best selling artists, and gorgeous watercolour and collage work from a retired artist new to Nottingham.

On the last Saturday (March 29th) there was a table-top sale of unframed artwork held in our Events Room.

Find out more about the artists and designers involved in our blog for the exhibition.

Resolution - Photography Open Show 16th January - 9th February

Our 1st Photography Open Show & Live Auction in support of PhotoVoice on January 16th – Feb 9th 2008

PhotoVoice’s mission is to bring about positive social change for marginalised communities through providing them with photographic training with which they can advocate, express themselves and generate income.

VIEw from the Top’s first photography open exhibition aimed to help raise awareness of Photovoice, a charity giving the most disadvantaged people the chance to represent themselves.

The exhibition presented an exciting, diverse selection, highlighting the vast spectrum of the art of photography, including landscape, portrait, wildlife, architectural, abstract and photo-journalism.

See a Review of the show by Hugh Dichmont on Left Lion's website

Christmas Fair 2007

Artists and designer-makers offered their unique alternatives to mass-produced Christmas gifts including millinery, ironwork, photography,paintings, baby clothes, wooden gifts, textiles and jewellery.

Green & Organic 12th -23rd September

September brought a lot of green love to VIEw from the top in joint collaboration with SUSU Organic. An eclectic exhibition, fashion show and market celebrated eco friendly business and design.

SUSU Organic and VIEw from the Top hosted the exciting 'Green and Organic' opening on 12th September 6-9pm. To mark the opening of this eclectic exhibition, a fashion show helped to promote some upcoming ethical designers. Special guest Penney Poyzer from BBC's "No Waste Like Home" gave us some extra green love, and wines naturally donated organic wine for tasting, ensuring the evening went with a swing.

The exhibition was received well, combining elements of advice about energy saving, the benefits of organic materials, the energy and beauty of recycling using amongst other things - lager bottles! The success of the exhibition could be seen in the disappearance of juicy cherry tomatoes on offer, and the vibrancy of the exhibits as commented by visitors.

View from the top also hosted the eclectic market, which offered advice, education, a chance to buy some lovely recycled jewellery and clothing and even the opportunity to have a massage!

Fresh Art & Design 18th August - 2nd September 2007

New graduates, early career artists and designer-maker businesses were invited to take part in this unique event aimed at exposing new talent to customers on the High St. 120 pieces were exhibited and over three weeks, visitors to the gallery were invited to bid for their favourites. Several went at the 'buy it now' price on the opening night with Lincoln graduate, Steve Ingram, making a particular impression. Other new names included Gemma Fielding, Ruth Perry, Lorna Hooper and photographer Gill Choo.