Play & Compassion

Co-curated by Ruth Batham and Georgie White Winter

With Amanda Griffiths, Bex Kitzinger-Kemp, Charlotte Warne Thomas, Clare Stephens, Claudia Tong, Francesca Ricci, Helen Sargeant, Jayne Stansfeld, Jenny Brooks, Jessy Plant, Katarina Ranković, Kate Corder, Katherine Lewis, Kathy Bruce, Kirsty Whiten, Lauren Bryden, Louise Abel, Mairi Gillies, Mario Lautier-Vella, Michelle Gallagher, Michelle Peterson, Phil McCumskey, Rochelle Asquith, Ruth Batham, Sam Haynes, Shivani Khoshia, Susan Plover, Tania Fullerton and Tim Neath.
Kingshill House Creative Centre, located in the Cotswolds town of Dursley, is delighted to exhibit our second annual Open Call, entitled ‘Play & Compassion’.

Exhibition is open 27th March –2nd June 2023*
*exhibition open times vary, please check below for full details. 

This is a free exhibition, open to everyone with a suggested donation of £2. 
Play is a vital tool in helping both children and adults with social and emotional development, such as building relationships, managing emotions, and learning to empathise. Research shows that compassionate people are generally happier and have higher levels of well-being, something we all strive for. Kingshill House Creative Centre believes that play and creativity is for everyone, young, old, women, men, LGBTQ+, people who identify as d/Deaf, d/Disabled, neurodivergent, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, Black, Asian, and Ethnically Diverse, there should be no barriers to creativity. ​

Opening Times
 Kingshill House is open ​Monday - Friday, 9.30am-2.30pm.

Additionally the exhibition will be open on the following Saturdays. 
​
Saturday 13th May 10am-12pm
Saturday 20th May 10am-12pm
Saturday 27th May 10am-12pm

For this exhibition, we were interested in exploring the importance of Play and Compassion in creative practices and the experimentation that comes with a playful process or constructing under a compassionate outlook. We announced an Open Call for submissions to respond to the title and we are very pleased with the response. Announcement of the artists included in the show will happen in the lead up to the opening of the show. ​
Play is more important to us than ever before and it is through play that we can find compassion for each other, learn about differences, solve conflicts, challenge, grow in courage, and build skills to compromise. Play has been shown to release endorphins, improve brain functionality, and stimulate creativity. So how does play and compassion relate in today’s art, as traditionally play may be thought of as products of superfluity and reduced to a low status of simple entertainment. However today many artists recognise the importance of play to sharpen your sense of humour, reduce overthinking and stress, and enable a practice that is thoughtful, considered and with freedom of cognitive judgements. A compassionate view and playful mind enables a free, fluid process, with little predetermined outcome. Henri Matisse drew with scissors producing vibrant layers of paper, Elly Thomas created refreshing sculptures with little interest in how they might turn out, and Annie Morris’ ball shaped towers play with joyful dialogue that are neither fully figurative nor abstract.
 
Come play! We will be showing works of all styles of art and craft work including handicrafts, outsider art but also objects, painting, tapestry, ceramics, sculpture, photography and video works. 
We are delighted that Play & Compassion has featured in Good On Paper, May 2023. 
This exhibition is co-curated by Georgie White Winter of Kingshill House Creative Centre and Stroud based artist Ruth Batham.
 
Thank you to Michelle Peterson for allowing your artwork to be used in the marketing material. 

Kingshill House Creative Centre is delighted to be partnering with Sage Residential for the Open Call exhibition Play and Compassion, opening Saturday 25th March 2023.
“For Sage Residential a home is a home, rather than merely a house. For both sellers and buyers they take time to understand individual circumstances and motivation to ensure seller’s homes are well-represented, alongside prospective buyers receiving the best service possible.
 
Adopting a very human approach to moving house, the Sage Residential team are adept at adapting to client’s circumstances, and representing their individual needs, with an entirely bespoke, personal and candid property marketing service.
 
Creativity, attention to detail, a passion for property and exceptional customer service all allow Sage Residential to elevate their property marketing above the norm’, doing justice to beautifully crafted, much loved homes.”​
A big thank you to Sage Residential for officially supporting this exhibition and helping to celebrate artistic talent and hard work whilst encouraging more people to engage with creativity. 
​
This year we are delighted to offer one artist in the exhibition the prize to create in one of Kingshill House Creative Centre spaces for a week, along with two mentoring sessions with Georgie White Winter. The decision for the artist awarded the prize with be decided by the Artistic Committee. Announcement will happen once the exhibition is open. 
 
Kingshill House Creative Centre is passionate to share and support art, craft, health and wellbeing with the community. We believe that art and craft is for everyone, and Kingshill House Creative Centre is a safe space that anyone can come, be creative, enjoy themselves, relax and take their minds off things. We provide an extensive programme of workshops, courses, drop-in classes, events and exhibitions. 
 
The charity has been part of the Dursley community for over 25 years & it is the only building of its size in the area that provides cultural significance. Set in a historic building with a rich history of supporting the community we aim to continue the story & deliver activities for both our local audience & those from further afield. With an excellent track record of creativity & culture, we welcome events of all sizes hosted at the House.

Run by a small team with big, bold ambitions for the future we are driven to dissolve economic and social barriers between audiences & their access to creativity.
  
Kingshill House, Kingshill Lane, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 4BZ
www.kingshillhouse.org.uk - 01453 549133
 
Saturday 25th March – 6-8pm - Exhibition Opening. (please note that Kingshill House Creative Centre is open weekdays, some Saturdays, and by appointment)
 
Friday 2nd June 2023 – Exhibition Closes.
Kingshill House is proud to be donating 10% of sales during the exhibition period to Play Gloucestershire who provide active and creative play in urban and rural communities in the Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury districts. Activities are both school and community based, providing adventure, friendship and fun for hundreds of young people each year.

School aged children and their families are the main beneficiaries of Play Gloucestershire's work and they particularly support children from disadvantaged and rurally isolated communities and those living in challenging circumstances.
Kingshill House Creative encourages people to take photos of the exhibition and tag us in along with the artist of the work. Our social media handles are as follows;
 
Instagram @kingshillhouse
Twitter @kingshillhouse
Facebook @KingshillHouseArtsDursley
 
We ask that you include the relevant handle in your posts for the exhibition.
 
 We can't wait to see you at Play & Compassion!