A Year in the Life

Chelsea Physic Garden

At the beginning of 2020, The Chelsea Physic Garden in London invited selected artists from the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) to visit the garden, absorb themselves in their surroundings and, inspired by the beauty and nature around them, to record a year in the life of the gardens. The resulting paintings are particularly impactful after the unprecedented challenges faced by the world this past year. The watercolours and prints will go on show at the Bankside Gallery in London, from August 12 to 30. For more information visit https://www.banksidegallery.com/exhibitions/

● The Laing Art Gallery in Newcastleupon-Tyne is running its three-day Art Academies for seven-to-ten-year-olds, and four-day Art Schools for 11 to 16 years-olds, during the summer holidays. Various dates are available. Go to https://laingartgallery.org.uk/whats-on/ for more details.

● The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol is launching an online donation campaign with Art Happens – a crowdfunding platform run by Art Fund. It hopes to raise £20k to create a Family Space and a Community Space to ‘encourage more visitors to enjoy and create art at the RWA’. The public are invited to donate at https://www.artfund.org/RWA-art-for-all

● The Royal Academy of Arts’ third annual Young Artists’ Summer Show 2021 is taking place at the Clore Learning Centre at the Royal Academy of Arts, from July 13 to August 8. The exhibition will also be available to see online from July 13. Visit: https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk

Liz Butler Chelsea Physic Garden, watercolour, 271/2339in (70399cm)

Rachel Gracey RE sketching in the Chelsea Physic Garden

Svetlana Kornilova Secret Garden, oil on canvas, 431/43193/4in (110350cm) ‘This is a story that all children are explorers,’ writes Svetlana ‘I do want them put off gadgets and go out not to miss these golden days.’ Svetlana’s work can be seen online at the Society of Women Artists’ 160th annual exhibition, from September 21