During the festive season, our galleries will transform into a bustling marketplace, giving local artists, members of the Bluecoat’s Creative Community and beyond, the opportunity and the space to showcase and sell their work before Christmas.
We're excited to host a new reflective exhibition The Year That Was, a celebration of the exhibitions and public artworks shown at the Bluecoat in 2024, opening on Tue 3 Dec. The exhibition will include limited edition prints, posters and original artworks from our gallery programme and cultural legacies programme. These works will also be for sale, giving visitors the chance to not only see art, but to enjoy it in their homes or gift to friends and family.
The main display features artists such as Michelle Williams-Gamaker, Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould, Babak Ganjei, Tess Gilmartin, Joshua Clague and more. This end of year display is also an opportunity to reflect back on a year that has explored who artists are, how the future will be shaped, and how we might connect with our histories.
A new archive display titled Tomorrow's Music Yesterday will open in our upstairs gallery. The display will include posters reflecting on some of the music presented at the Bluecoat over the decades, with a focus on the experimental and eclectic, including jazz, improvised, electronic, ‘world’ and contemporary classical from the likes of the Philip Glass Ensemble, John Zorn, Pierre Henry, Carla Bley, Imrat Khan and Philip Jeck. Opening on Friday 15th November.
The garden will be host to a new festive themed art trail from Blue Room, the Bluecoat’s inclusive arts programme for learning disabled and neurodivergent artists. Room artists have created a mischievous troupe of gingerbread characters inspired by Kayleigh Murray’s Gingerbread Party design for LUSH’s festive gift collection. From Saturday 30th November.
Festive Lunches and Christmas Workshops
The Bluecoat’s upstairs restaurant will be open for festive lunches during the Christmas period. Friends, families, and colleagues can book a table for a two course Christmas meal for just £26pp, prepared by our talented new Head Chef. Vegetarian and gluten free options available. View the full menu here.
Following on from a highly popular Autumn wreath making workshop, professional up-cycler and Channel 4 personality Gemma Longworth will be hosting a Festive Wreath Making workshop on Sun 24 Nov.
Movema and the Bluecoat’s partnership event ‘Makers and Shakers’ is back with a Creative Christmas Disco and Christmas decoration making workshop on Sun 1 Dec.
