A feast for the eye at Festival of Illustration graduate show

Published Monday, 27th September 2021

The award-winning Northern Festival of Illustration has once again returned to Hartlepool Art Gallery with a new exhibition celebrating the diverse work of illustration graduates.

As part of the bi-annual festival, which is organised in conjunction with the Northern School of Art, a display of works created during lockdown by the Class of 2020 illustration graduates is on show to visitors until Sunday 28th November.

The show is in response to last year’s COVID restrictions as the illustration graduates were unable to exhibit their final major project pieces because their final degree show was cancelled.

Visitors to the gallery can see works by illustrators who graduated from the Northern School of Art’s BA (Hons) Illustration for Commercial Application degree in 2020. Further specially-commissioned illustration exhibitions are also taking place across the town at The BIS and the Northern School of Art, with a show later coming up later in the festival at St Hilda’s Church on the Headland.

An illustration of Hartlepool Art Gallery by Edward Lightfoot

An illustration of Hartlepool Art Gallery by Edward Lightfoot

“We are delighted to support the Northern School of Art graduates’ Class of 2020 by showcasing their amazing work at Hartlepool Art Gallery as part of this year’s Northern Festival of Illustration,’’ says Hartlepool Art Gallery Manager Georgina Ascroft.

Also on display at the gallery are three monkey sculptures, colourfully decorated by members of the local community in a series of workshops which took place over the summer.

The project was overseen by recent Northern School of Art graduates and supported by Hartlepool-based community arts organisation Bloominart, following which the monkeys are now on show at various businesses and other venues around the town for people to track down and enjoy.

One of the monkeys stands guard over the Art Gallery exhibition

One of the monkeys stands guard over the Art Gallery exhibition

For more information, including a map and checklist for the monkey trail, visit thefestivalofillustration.com.

All the Monkey venues and exhibition venues have stickers and posters with a QR code allowing people to say they have found a monkey and enter a prize draw to win a prize of art supplies.

Hartlepool Art Gallery is based in Church Square and is open 10am–5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays and entry is free. For more information call (01429) 869706 or visit www.hartlepoolartgallery.com.