PREPARATIONS ARE UNDERWAY FOR A BIG BANK HOLIDAY TAKEOVER AT CHIMERA HOUSE STUDIOS, AND THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO BE THERE.

This Bank Holiday weekend, Kemptown Arts Association (KTAA) takes over Chimera House Studios (CHS) as part of Brighton’s Artists Open Houses festival. The show launches Saturday 24 May and runs to Monday 26 May, inclusively.

The exhibition, which features KTAA members exclusively, is a chance to see work by 14 of our diverse creative collective. Among the artworks hung there visitors will find tactile textile art, framed photographic prints, unique ceramics, and a wide range of digital and handmade prints.

It’s not the first time KTAA has shown at the Kemp Town exhibition space,  situated just a stone’s throw from St. Mary’s Church and the bustle of St. James’s Street. ‘The KTAA was the first group to book my gallery for its summer exhibition in 2024,’ says CHS owner Paul Davis. ‘And I am delighted that they are taking over the space for the final weekend of the Artists Open Houses season.’

‘For many years, I had it in my mind to create an arts space in Brighton,’ Davis explains. ‘Long before it was even a remote possibility, I used to walk the streets of Brighton and Hove looking for suitable properties, and hoping that one distant day I would have the funds to make it happen.

‘When I look at Brighton’s family of districts,’ he says, ‘I see Kemptown as the dangerously cool, rebellious, older sibling. Rebellion is at the heart of art. Artists … dare to think and do things differently. That is the essence of how I want my event space to be. My gallery and the Kemptown Arts Association are the ideal match,’ says Davis. ‘…kindred spirits.’

Representing KTAA at this exhibition you can expect to find the following members and disciplines:

• Aga Biel Photography
• Amanda Denton-Knowles Print making
• Brian Innes Print making
• Camilla Ellingsen Webster Photography
• Cary Kamarat Photography
• Christina Perry Painting
• Darren Calder Textiles
• David G Taylor Mixed media
• Gitte Porsgaard Ceramics
• Jared Orlin Mixed media
• Lucy Myers Painting
• Meryam Alagoz Paintings
• Sarah Agnew Photography
• Sophie Hewett Photography

Among those, Brian Innes says he’ll be exhibiting ‘recent collages and prints’ (pictured).

Gitte Porsgaard is showing ‘a selection of wheel thrown pottery (pictured). Bowls of varying sizes, salt pigs, egg cups, beakers. Bird feeders, plant pots, candle holders.’

Meanwhile, Darren Calder is known for his textile design (pictured), and you’ll be able to see a selection on display. ‘I run workshops on rug weaving and tapestry weaving,’ Calder says. ‘Themes include introduction workshops, words that describe feelings, and experimental weaving,’ either, he says,’on or off of a frame.’ Also in the frame this Bank Holiday weekend are the incredible talents of many other KTAA members old and new, so do yourself a favour, come along to experience it for yourself.

• Join us 24-26 May (11am to 6pm) at Chimera House Studios, 18 Lower Rock Gardens, Kemp Town, BN2 1PG. Admission is free.

For full details of Brighton’s AOH season, including photos and individual artist’s information,
go to https://aoh.org.uk

Text and illustration by David G Taylor; written on Sunday 11 May 2025.