Mercer Art Gallery

Promenade in the footsteps of early spa visitors as you view exciting exhibitions in the Mercer Art Gallery, from Harrogate’s Fine Art Collection to new shows of contemporary art.

Built 200 years ago as the Promenade Rooms, this magnificent building was a place for spa visitors to socialise. It later became a theatre, then Town Hall, before its rebirth as the Mercer Art Gallery in 1991.

You will find a wide range of ever-changing exhibitions, perhaps a national touring show of painting, photography, sculpture and crafts, or an exhibition drawn from the Harrogate District Fine Art Collection, and contemporary work by regional artists.

Exhibitions:

Liz West - H.A.P.P.Y exhibition

Dates: 13 April until 5 October 2025
Price: Free

A mesmerising exhibition to Harrogate’s Mercer Art Gallery, inviting audiences to experience a dazzling interplay of light, space and reflection.

The exhibition is called H.A.P.P.Y as a counterbalance to Liz’s personal experience of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), a condition linked to the shorter and darker days of Autumn and Winter.

She experiments with colour and light to create environments that inspire joy and curiosity, and it’s fitting that this exhibition runs through the Spring and Summer, the time when Liz is at her happiest due to increased daylight and warmer weather.

Visit the H.A.P.P.Y LAB our activity area:  Play with funky glasses, rainbow jigsaws, kaleidoscopes, and Perspex shapes – creative fun for all ages!   Kindly sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer

Adrift on a Painted Sea exhibition

Dates: 16 November 2024 until 8 June 2025
Price: Free

Adrift on a Painted Sea by Tim Bird is a beautiful and profound graphic novel that explores family, loss, and art through the author's relationship with his mother, Sue Bird, who painted as a hobby throughout her life. The exhibition displays a range of paintings by Sue Bird, alongside some artwork from the graphic novel, written by her son Tim after her death to celebrate her art and life. As well as paintings by Sue Bird and artwork from the novel, there will also be a display of sketches and sketchbooks.

Sue Bird was always painting: botanical art, landscapes, still lifes, and especially the sea. She took classes, kept countless sketchbooks, and filled the house with art. From their neighbourhood to their family trips to the North Yorkshire coast, all the moments of her life were memorialized in her artwork. Throughout her life, she never sold a piece - she gave art to family and friends and shared her work online, but never received wider recognition for her work. The new novel, Adrift on a Painted Sea, explores their family life and her creative explorations through a mix of her paintings and Tim's comics, depicting their relationship and her life from a teenager to her struggle with cancer at the height of the Covid pandemic.

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Explore the gallery gift shop for a thoughtfully curated selection of high-quality and unique items. With gifts, books, stylish homeware, souvenirs, and greeting cards – perfect for treats and presents alike.

Card payments only.