- Venue
- The Atkinson
- Starts
- Saturday, February 1, 2025
- Ends
- Saturday, March 15, 2025
- Address
- Lord Street Southport
- Location
- North West England
- Organiser
- The Atkinson
Floribunda from Hand Grown
The Landing Gallery, The Atkinson, Southport, UK 1 Feb-15 March 2025
The Atkinson is set to host a vibrant new exhibition, Floribunda, celebrating the diversity of flora from the North West through contemporary art and craft. Opening in February 2025, the exhibition will showcase a stunning collection of works by HAND GROWN, a group of 10 Wirral-based female artists, offering a fresh take on the timeless creative theme of representing nature.
From loose botanical illustration to paper sculpture, Floribunda explores the significance of flowers, foliage, fungi and lichen as part of our ecosystem. Featuring a variety of mediums including painting, ceramic and paper sculpture, jewellery and textiles, the exhibition brings together a rich tapestry of visual experiences designed to captivate and inspire visitors.
Instigated by an idea from Alison Bailey Smith following a bio-diversity creative project in 2022, Floribunda aims to challenge the viewer’s perception of plants including fungi and lichen that we may overlook in our own neighbourhoods. Alison Bailey Smith said “ Gathering skilled artists I have known and admired for many years we have created a multi-disciplinary experience that encourages people to see our native and garden plants in a completely new light.”
Floribunda features works by a diverse range of artists including Ling Warlow of Paper By Dragonfly and Jude Gill of Ceramic Organic. Not all are known to a gallery setting including calligrapher Ola Lee and upholsterer Karen Lawson of Rejiggery. Many of the pieces use recycled, natural or sustainable elements in their construction. A special piece, The Floribunda Throne is a collaboration between three of the exhibitors combining their skills in a majestic repurposed carved wooden chair with calligraphy, appliqué, special paint finishes and specially designed fabric, created using sustainable upholstery methods.
Floribunda opens on the 1st of February and runs through March 15th and open to the public during regular museum hours, with free entry. Also open to view during theatre perfromances. Located on Lord Street in the heart of Southport, The Atkinson offers visitors of all ages a warm and welcoming environment to explore and enjoy the changing exhibitions, the permanent collections and library.
