Events

Fishermen’s Huts

Steve Carse’s solo exhibition, Fishermen’s Huts, celebrates the wildness of the northeast coast and a commitment to old traditions.

Pounded by the unforgiving North Sea and the harsh weather of the northeast coast, the diminutive derelict harbour of Port Mulgrave is a wild and wonderful place to visit.
Once a thriving port, transporting locally mined ironstone up to Jarrow and the shipyards of Tyneside, the weather-beaten, wind-swept ruins today host a dystopian collection of fishermen’s huts that bear testament to their owners’ resilience, ingenuity and creativity.
Fighting a constant battle with the elements, each pays homage to nature’s spoils, celebrating the environment with entrances made from driftwood and ‘gardens’ that would look more at home on the ocean floor.

Further down the coast in Whitby, Fortune’s traditional smokehouse still sells the cured kippers it’s been producing for over 150 years.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 21 February 5.00pm

Featured image: Steve Carse ARBSA, Fisherman’s Hut #11

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

Mike Bagshaw grew up in Salford, where his early talent was recognised when his school nominated him to attend a Saturday morning art class for local children, run by Harold Riley, a close friend of L.S. Lowry.

Riley became a formative influence, teaching him to look closely at his subject and to relish the physical qualities of drawing materials. That grounding shaped Mike’s lifelong fascination with the way a line reveals exactly how it was made in a specific moment. He believes an artist’s character is visible in their marks, even when using photographs as source material.

Mike loves drawing that leaves the process openly present on the page. Immediacy and expressive humanity are what continue to excite him about drawing.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 21 February 5.00pm

Featured image: Mike Bagshaw ARBSA, Jane Goodall

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

Between Bodies

These paintings represent a recent transitional period in Jonathan Waller’s art practice. They follow on from a large body of work that explored the universal theme of death, many of which were exhibited in London during the autumn of 2024.

One of these paintings is included here to give some context. The other works are explorations of style and colour using portraiture as a motif. Waller sees these as a way of preparing the ground for another themed series which could be called ‘Life in the Studio’, but it’s early days yet.

Exhibition closes: Saturday 21 February 5.00pm

Featured image: Jonathan Waller ARBSA, Death Painting No.17 (Window on the World)

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

RBSA Friends make up a significant part of the wider RBSA community and the Gallery hosts an exhibition of selected work by Friends annually.

An ideal showcase for artists at all stages of their careers, the exhibition is open to all RBSA Friends working in any media.

A Friends subscription is the first step towards becoming an RBSA Associate, and the Gallery will be hosting events throughout the exhibition for Friends to find out more about the Society and election process.

Having been in existence since the 1900s, the RBSA Friends scheme offers a wide range of opportunities for artists and art lovers. Friends are invited to participate in Society events as Gallery stewards, members of installation and take down teams, or event organisers. Anyone can sign up as an RBSA Friend and full details of how to join can be found on page 16 or on our website.

Private View: Thursday 8 January 6.00pm – 8.00pm

Exhibition closes: Saturday 7 February 5.00pm

Featured image: Gwenda Jones, Primate

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm

This Beginners level ring-making course takes place every Saturday for 3 weeks, starting Saturday 24th January 2026, from 10am to 4pm.

Learn how to make a silver ring in our bright and shiny jewellery making workshop in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.  A unique and personalised piece of jewellery for you to wear home at the end of the course or to give away as a gift.

The JQ Set’s jewellery making courses are different from most other hobby-level courses. I have designed a series of set projects which teach specific jewellery skills to the level I learnt on my intensive handskills course at university (a 2 year full-time course which unfortunately discontinued back in 2012).

Having this apprentice-level training enabled my career change from structural engineering to becoming a bench jeweller and tutor, and to me it feels essential that these skills are offered as part-time jewellery courses in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, the heart of the British jewellery industry.

What is the set project on the beginners course?
You will learn to make a wide silver ring band incorporating your very own cut-out design, along with a flat practice piece in silver too. This project is exactly the same as the one on the evening class format – the Beginners Silver Ring Evening Course.

Birmingham in the 19th-century was hailed as the ‘workshop of the world’. The Jewellery Quarter was its busy hub, producing jewellery, silver and tableware.

About 40% of British jewellery is still made there. Behind a frontage of terraced houses, J.W.Evans Silver Factory is among its most complete surviving historic factories. Crammed with tools and equipment, it’s preserved as if the workers might return at any minute.

Tours

Entry to J.W Evans is through guided tours only and advance booking is essential. Tours will be available every Friday from Friday 7 November to 27 March 2026. This excludes 26 December and 20 February 2026.