A taste of what you can experience this Saturday 🎶
Join Kendal’s Pro Nobis choir and composer Jack McNeill for an afternoon of singing the stories and poems created by our community.
Saturday 16 May, 2–4pm at Abbot Hall.
Book your ticket using the link in our bio!
Will Cooper, our Senior Curator at Lakeland Arts, talks us through the meaning and importance behind “Familial Traces”, our latest Abbot Hall exhibition.
If you want to learn more about Familial Traces, Joshua Donkor and Lela Harris, you can read @thefourdrinier exhibition review by Kirsty Jukes (@in_the_hanging_garden ). Link in our bio.
Have you booked your space for our Bellwethers Choir Workshop this Saturday?
Join us to learn songs based on poems from the Bellwethers project, where they’ll be performed by Kendal’s Pro Nobis choir, composer Jack McNeill, and you! 🎶
Saturday 16 May, 2-4pm.
Photography: @georgecarrstudio
What’s on at Abbot Hall Art Gallery?
Now on display upstairs!
Familial Traces until Sat 3 October
Bellwethers and The Paper Quilt Project until Sat 19 September
Sat 16 May, 2pm to 3.45pm
Bellwethers Choir Workshop
Learn songs inspired by the project and perform alongside Kendal’s Pro Nobis Choir and composer Jack McNeill.
Sat 23 to Sat 30 May
May Half Term activities
Including self-portrait drawing, Sully the Cat’s Art Trail, and a What is Home? Facilitated Workshop.
Sat 6 June, 6pm to 8.15pm
Lady Anne Clifford: A Picture in Words and Music
A theatrical and musical performance by Kendal Community Theatre and The Clifford Consort, celebrating Lady Anne Clifford’s 350th anniversary.
Find out more via the What’s On link in our bio!
What does home mean to you? 🏠
The Paper Quilt Project began as a blank space and grows with every story added. Through artist-led workshops, each square becomes part of a collective artwork exploring belonging, identity and connection.
Come and see it take shape, and share your own thoughts!
Visit the gallery Wednesday - Saturday, 10 - 4.
Photography: @georgecarrstudio@emilycoopercreative
Catch a glimpse of what’s to come as Kendal Community Theatre and The Clifford Consort prepare for Lady Anne Clifford – A Picture in Words and Music at Abbot Hall.
🎟️ £15 | Includes a drink
📆 Saturday 6 June 2026
🚪 Doors open 5:30pm
🔗 Book your place via the link in bio
#LivePerformance #LadyAnneClifford
Join us at Abbot Hall on 16th May, 2- 4pm to learn songs based on poems from the Zwiebelfish: Bellwethers project!
The songs will be performed by Kendal’s Pro Nobis choir, with composer Jack McNeill’s clarinet accompanying - and with YOU! Feel the power of singing stories from our community, singing from the heart. No musical experience necessary, but enthusiasm is a must.
The event will include two 45 min blocks of singing with a 15 min break in between to enjoy the exhibition.
Tickets are £5/person, or free for Lakeland Arts Members. Please book ahead, as there are limited spots available.
One day isn't enough... so we've added Serving Sunday! 🎶
The live music continues all day on Sunday 14th June at Abbot Hall with the perfect followup to Saturday's celebrations.
Things will be taking a more relaxed and acoustic vibe, so you can take it easy and reflect on the weekend.
Join us for some delicious free food (more details still to come) and great music, plus the Kendal Pride bar will be open to quench your thirst throughout the afternoon.
A new exhibition opens this Friday at our sister heritage site, Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts House.
Useful/Beautiful celebrates 25 years of contemporary craft collecting alongside Blackwell’s 125th anniversary, exploring how objects can hold meaning, tell stories and reflect the world around us.
Set throughout the house, the exhibition brings together ceramics, furniture and textiles by internationally renowned makers including Magdalene Odundo DBE, Chris Day, alongside exciting contemporary artisans such as Mac Collins and Annabel Hood.
If you’re planning a visit to the Lakes this spring or summer, it’s well worth adding to your list.
🔗 Find out more via the link in @blackwellartsandcrafts bio
Artwork featured in this post:
1. Mac Collins Iklwa Chair, 2024. Image credit Robin Zahler.
2. Chris Day Strange Fruit (The Congregation), 2012. Image credit Robin Zahler.
3. Annabel Hood Glacial Flow Teaset, 2019. Image credit Robin Zahler.
4. Useful/Beautiful poster designed by Emily Cooper.
We are so excited to be the hub of Kendal Pride Village again in June!
Join us at Abbot Hall on Saturday 13 June, 12 - 6pm where you can...
Visit stalls, meet up with like-minded people, enjoy a drink or some food, watch entertainment on the stage hosted by RuPaul Drag Race UK’s Viola, take part free activities such as a climbing wall, family crafts with Ragtag Arts, crafts with Queer By Gum, the Proud Pooches Dog Show and much more!
@kendalprideuk
These lovely photos taken by @georgecarrstudio give a sneak peek into what you can explore in our upstairs galleries at Abbot Hall...
Familial Traces by Joshua Donkor and Lela Harris
Bellwethers: Survival & Fragility
The Paper Quilt Project community exhibition
Come and see these exhibitions yourself!
The gallery is open Wednesday - Saturday, 10 - 4 🖼️
