The Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool shows a year round programme of contemporary and visual art exhibitions and events. Including solo and group displays together with talks, events and educational activities. Take a look at what’s coming up in Spring 2025.
Opening Times
- Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4.45pm.
- Please note: last entry to the gallery is 4.20pm.
- Closed Sunday, Monday and Bank Holidays
- Admission is Free
- More about facilities here
Spring Programme at Grundy Art Gallery
Exhibitions until 7 June
Aligning with the spirit of the season, spring at the Grundy always focuses on the ‘new’- new ideas, new artworks and new partnerships. This spring, award-winning artists, prize-winning organisations and valued members of the public from Blackpool and beyond, will share the stage in a season of exhibitions that celebrate our hobbies, from making and modifying to collecting.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council and Chair of the Grundy’s steering group said, “I am thrilled to be announcing the launch of another brilliant season of activity at Blackpool’s well-loved Grundy Art Gallery.
“Once again, through its ambitious partnership working, Grundy is linking Blackpool to a national arts and culture conversation, and is shedding positive light on the town. Alongside this, the Grundy continues to find exciting new ways in which residents and visitors alike can see themselves represented in its programmes of activity.”
COME AS YOU REALLY ARE: HETAIN PATEL
Grundy Art Gallery, Artangel and award-winning artist and Spider-Man enthusiast Hetain Patel, present Come As You Really Are. This nationwide project showcases hobbies that demonstrate an individual’s freedom of expression and ingenuity, and in doing so, broadens our perception of who gets to be called creative and where the impulse to create stems from.
This spring Come As You Really Are comes to Blackpool where it will showcase hundreds of unique handcrafted objects including a flock of crocheted pigeons and a field of fabric pumpkins, alongside collections such as prized Pokemon cards and Warhammer figures.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with these objects will be rarely seen items from the Grundy Art Gallery Collection and new and existing works by Patel, including a new film that explores the outstanding creativity and passion that people put into their hobbies. Alongside this will be a selection of objects by the hobbyists featured in the film including illuminated model aircraft engineered by Blackpool & Fylde Radio Controlled Model Society.
Come As You Really Are by Hetain Patel is a nationwide project made up of 13 partner presentations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales from Summer 2024 – 2026. Read more about the nationwide project at: artangel.org.uk/project/come-as-you-really-are/ #ComeAsYouReallyAre #MappingOurHobbies
CAT-THARSIS: ANDY HOLDEN
Alongside and in conversation with Hetain Patel’s Come As You Really Are, Grundy Art Gallery presents Andy Holden’s 2021/22 installation Cat-tharsis. Comprising a looped video and 200 ceramic cats, Cat-tharsis offers another perspective on the impulses behind what and why we collect.
The artist inherited the ceramic cats from his late grandmother and the 17 min film, narrated by the artist, sees him unboxing and introducing us to some of the cats from this collection. Weaving together stories about the cat as a symbol from Ancient Egypt to the cat’s present-day position as a star of the internet along with personal reflections on his grandmother and the life that she led, Cat-tharsis offers a humorous and poignant exploration of the compulsion to collect.
WORKSHOPS / TALKS / EVENTS
Grundy’s spring season will be accompanied by a programme of talks, workshops and events, including a series of ‘Hobby Meets’ and a short course in basic crochet. See thegrundy.org. for more information.
Monet painting to be exhibited at Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery
Blackpool Council is delighted to announce that The National Gallery, London has selected Grundy Art Gallery to be one of four museums and galleries from across the country to take part in the prestigious The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2025-27.
The National Gallery’s The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil by Monet will be displayed at Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery in spring 2026 (28 March -13 June). Blackpool was chosen as one of four locations from over 30 museum and galleries that submitted an application to be part of The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2025-27.
This project will also see Grundy Art Gallery host other artworks in the future of art historical and art world significance from The National Gallery Collection.
The work selected for the first year is Monet’s The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872), a work which has left the Gallery only once in the last 20 years. Monet depicts a tranquil scene of a winter day on the outskirts of the small suburban town of Argenteuil, not far from Paris. Although the town was already partly industrialised and a popular location for sailing and leisure boating, Monet only hints at this developing bustle with a few scattered buildings behind a screen of trees. Instead, he focuses on an intimate moment by the river. The orderly composition, variety of brushstrokes and reflection in the water are all regular features of Monet’s work.
Hosting Monet in Blackpool continues Grundy’s ambition to bring world-class art to the town, and follows recent displays of work by art world greats such as LS Lowry, JMW Turner, Roy Lichtenstein, Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry.
To accompany Monet…
Grundy Art Gallery will use its expertise in hosting contemporary art exhibitions to combine the display of Monet with a solo exhibition by the contemporary Northwest based painter Louise Giovanelli. Recognised as one of the most compelling artists of her generation, Giovanelli’s luminous paintings display her own mastery of materials and her expert skill at capturing light, reflection and shadow. Spring 2026 marks ten years since Giovanelli had her first solo exhibition at the Grundy, an occasion that was also the first solo exhibition of her career.
There will also be a schools’ exhibition at Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery following workshops responding to Monet’s work, and Monet’s painting will inspire Grundy’s programme of work with the pARTnership, a creative and professional development project for adults with a learning disability.
Sir Gabriele Finaldi is National Gallery Director. He said: “The National Gallery’s collection belongs to all of us. It is part of our duty and our honour to look after these paintings and to bring them to where people are, not just expect them to come to us. Partnering on touring exhibitions does so much more than bring beloved paintings from the collection to other places in the UK. It supports the whole country’s cultural ecosystem, connecting people with paintings that belong to us all. It allows us to learn and expand our own practices and interpretations through the creativity of our partner organisations and their communities. That over one million people have visited these exhibitions in the last decade proves the desire to engage with our collection is growing. We look forward to welcoming the next million visitors across the UK.”
Grundy Art Gallery’s work recognised by increased funding
In November 2022, Grundy Art Gallery announced that it’s to remain part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio programme 2023-2026 – to the value of £249,000 over the three years.
This funding will support the development and delivery of an exciting year-round programme of relevant, meaningful and high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events, taking place on and off-site.
Image credits, left to right:
- Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Blackpool Light of My Life (2021), Grundy Art Gallery Co-commission with Blackpool Illuminations and Lightpool Festival Photo: Jonathan Lynch, © the artist, Courtesy Grundy Art Gallery
- The pARTnership exhibition banner at Grundy Art Gallery, 2022. Photo Matt Wilkinson. Courtesy Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool Council
- Chloe MacFarlane, copyright the artist, Private Collection, Photo Matt Wilkson. Courtesy Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool Council
Grundy will continue its founding mission to show the best art of the day to the people of Blackpool and beyond. The programme will enable the gallery to enact its vision to be a beacon for contemporary art in the North West.
Grundy Art Gallery is also delighted to receive an uplift on previous years’ NPO funding, specifically to support the development and delivery of the pARTnership.
It’s delivered via a collaboration between Grundy Art Gallery, The New Langdale (Blackpool Council’s daytime service for people with a Learning Disability), Venture Arts in Manchester and Fylde-Coast based artist Tina Dempsey. This project provides bespoke professional development to artists with a Learning Disability to enable them to develop their own individual creativity. The project also presents this work in professional contemporary art settings. Recent exhibitions of this work have taken place at Grundy Art Gallery and Abingdon Studios in Blackpool. And at The Horsfall and The Manchester Contemporary in Manchester.
Grundy newsletter
To keep up to date and find out more about the Grundy’s exhibitions and events sign up to the Grundy newsletter via the Grundy website www.thegrundy.org. Also keep an eye on the website and watch out for posts via Grundy’s social media channels.
Grundy Art Gallery celebrates 110 years
Grundy Art Gallery unveiled an exciting calendar of events to commemorate its 110th anniversary in 2021.
The gallery and its collection established in 1911. It came via a financial gift and donation of over 30 paintings by local brothers John and Cuthbert Grundy. 2021 therefore marks the 110th Anniversary of the gallery opening its doors to the people of Blackpool and beyond.
The Blackpool coat of arms – emblazoned with ‘Progress’ – is embedded in brickwork above the front door. Guided by this motto, the gallery continues to honour its founding ethos. It shows a year-round programme of high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events. Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, 2021 was no exception.
110th Anniversary Logo
Grundy Art Gallery’s 110th anniversary logo was inspired by an ink stamp, historically used to identify items brought into Grundy’s permanent collection. It also echoes the design of Blackpool’s world famous sticks of rock.
Curator of Grundy Art Gallery
Paulette Terry Brien became the gallery’s curator in November 2017.
Paulette has more than 25 years of experience working within contemporary visual art. She’s well known for raising the profile of the North West region, on a national and international level.
Paulette is co-founder and co-director of The International 3, a contemporary art gallery based in Salford. There, she delivered a year round programme of exhibitions and events. Plus being instrumental in developing projects such as Manchester’s annual contemporary art fair, The Manchester Contemporary.
Paulette comes to the Grundy with a strong track record of identifying and nurturing emerging talent, commissioning and curating high quality contemporary art exhibitions for both gallery and non-gallery settings. Over the years, her wealth of experience has supported hundreds of emerging artists. Many of whom have gone on to achieve regional, national and international recognition.
As well as providing peer support, Paulette has also been successful on many occasions in brokering the acquisition of work by regional artists into major public and private collections, such as the Arts Council Collection and Whitworth Art Gallery’s collection.
Paulette is thrilled to be the new curator of the Grundy. She’s keen to continue to champion regional artists from the North West.
More about Grundy Art Gallery
Grundy Art Gallery is Blackpool’s art gallery. It offers a year round programme of contemporary and visual art exhibitions and events. There are solo and group exhibitions together with talks, workshops and educational activities.
Brothers John and Cuthbert Grundy founded The Grundy Art Gallery in 1908. Now displayed in a Grade II listed Carnegie building. It’s been at the centre of cultural and artistic life in the town for over 100 years. It began with the ambition to show the best art of the day to the people of Blackpool. This sentiment remains at the heart of today, as a leading contemporary art gallery in the North West.
Today it includes works by established artists such as Martin Creed, Tracey Emin and Laura Ford. Gilbert and George, Brian Griffiths, Augustus John, Haroon Mirza and Eric Ravilious. It also has works by regionally based emerging talent such as Joe Fletcher Orr and Louise Giovanelli.
The Grundy aims to inspire audiences through an ambitious and varied year-round exhibitions programme. It draws on the unique and invigorating context and heritage of Blackpool. For instance exploring the space between contemporary art, entertainment and popular culture.
The Grundy Collection
Exhibitions and displays frequently incorporate pieces from our collection. It began with a bequest by the founding brothers and contains an eclectic range of art and other items. From furniture to ceramics, to netsuke ornaments to Victorian oil paintings. Artists include Craigie Aitchison, Ruth Claxton and Martin Creed. Laura Ford, Augustus John, Eric Ravilious and Gilbert and George amongst others.
Grundy is part of Blackpool Council’s Arts Service. It develops and delivers arts projects which engage Blackpool’s residents, communities and visitors in the arts. The service supports the town’s arts community, placing the arts the core of Blackpool’s unique and important cultural environment.
The gallery is an Accredited Museum. It also receives funding from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation and from the John Ellerman Foundation.
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