LISKEARD’S Cancer Research UK Art Show is back – and it’s hoped that local people will support the committee as they near the amazing £1million mark.
Just for paintings when it first began back in 1968, the annual exhibition has grown to encompass art and crafts of all kinds, jewellery and photography, and it has become an enormously popular fixture on the arts and social calendar in Cornwall.
It’s also the major fundraising event for the local Liskeard committee of Cancer Research UK, which since its formation in 1953, has brought in no less than £982,767 for the charity.
“Last year was the only year that we could not hold the exhibition, and we are delighted to be able to stage it again this year,” said committee member Frances Foulkes.
“There has been a lot of interest shown by new exhibitors as well as those who have loyally supported us over many years. The standard of work is very high - there is so much talent in the westcountry.”
“Everything exhibited at the show is for sale,” Frances continues.
“The daily refreshments are very popular and there are always wonderful prizes in the raffle. In recent years the exhibition has annually raised about £11,000, and it would be wonderful if we could at least match that amount this year.”
The CRUK Art Exhibition is set to be opened by former BBC presenter Justin Leigh on Tuesday March at 7 for 7.30 pm. With an entry of £5, everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy some wine and cheese.
From Wednesday March 2 through to Saturday March 5 the show will be open from 10am – 7.30pm (adults £2, children £1) and on Sunday March 6, the last day of the exhibition, you can visit from 10am-3pm.
Justin Leigh is encouraging everyone to enjoy and support the event.
“I am delighted to be opening this year’s Cancer Research Art Show in Liskeard. It is a well established and popular event and I am looking forward to seeing the range of local art, craft and photography on display,” he said.
“It’s so good to see fundraising events such as this opening up again after the disruption caused by the pandemic.
“I lost my mum to cancer several years ago and, like many other people, I have seen too many friends and loved ones affected by it. So I hope as many people as possible will come and enjoy the exhibition and help to raise funds for such an important cause.”
Nicola Jane Rowles
Based in Upton Cross, artist and designer Nicola Jane Rowles can also be found at her gallery and studio Coast and Country Art in Wadebridge (coastandcountryart.com)
She’s been proud to support the Cancer Research UK art exhibition for the last eight years, and looks forward to meeting people at the opening night, where she’ll be happy to chat about her work, the techniques she uses, and art in general.
Nicola says: “I look forward to the event in Liskeard. For me it marks the start of spring and of hope.
“I have personal reasons that this cancer charity means so much, losing my mum when she was 59 and my uncle at 54, cancer has devastated our family as it does for many families.
“I am very fortunate to have been a successful artist for the last 32 years and love what I do, this opportunity for me to give a little back and contribute not only to CRUK funds, but to also make someone happy with a piece of my work, is very important to me.
“Please come and support this event - every person attending helps the charity and means so much to such a lot of people, let’s make a difference.”
Jenni Phillips
Ceramicist Jenni Phillips says she feels very lucky to work from her small studio near St Cleer with lovely views across the Cornish countryside.
She’s been making ceramics on and off for all of her adult life, and decribes her work as mainly thrown on the wheel and functional – she creates bowls, jugs, mugs and other vessels.
“I have two ranges of work, decorated earthenware using slips, sgraffito and underglazes, and a stoneware range using simple white, green and blue glazes,” said Jenni.
“I originally trained as an Art and Ceramics teacher and after a career in education I now enjoy a second life, finally putting all my ideas and skills into making.”
As chairman of the East Cornwall Society of Artists, Jenni promotes the work of artists belonging to the Society through the Ebenezer Gallery in Polperro.
Her own work can be found in local galleries, craft fairs and online; to discover more, look for www.jenniphillipsceramics.co.uk , or on Instagram or Facebook.
Jenni has exhibited at the show in Liskeard for many years, and she says: “I am delighted that the Cancer Research Art and Craft exhibition is going ahead this year raising funds for a important charity.”
Nicholas Smith
Born in 1960, the son of one of Britain’s foremost landscape artists, Caesar Smith, Nicholas started his artistic career soon after leaving school in Peterborough.
Nicholas drew inspiration for his early work from studying wildlife in his native Fens. His intricate watercolour studies of all things natural became very collectable, leading to many ‘sell out’ exhibitions across the Midlands and London during the 1980s and 90s.
With a dramatic relocation to the far west of Cornwall in 1997, Nicholas found that the new surroundings gave a wonderful opportunity for his artistic talents to grow.
Nicholas, who is chairman of the St Just and District Cancer Research Committee, welcomes visitors to the studio at his home on the moors between Morvah and Madron, near to Lanyon Quoit and the Men-An-Tol.
“I have been exhibiting at the Cancer Research show in Liskeard for probably five years now,” he says, “and I even opened the event a few years ago.
“It’s nice to be able to support one of the other units in our county, even though it is quite a drive to come up from the Penzance area!”