Abingdon Studios Project Space

Abingdon Studios presents a new solo commission by artist…. ABIGAIL HAMPSEY CLOSE ENOUGH Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, and developed in partnership with Grundy Art Gallery. Join us for the preview 📍 Friday 24 April 🕓 4–6pm. 🔗 In Bio This special preview aligns with our partners at Grundy Art Gallery, offering an early invitation ahead of their evening programme—celebrating a major solo presentation by Louise Giovenelli, alongside works by Apollo Painting School artists, and a rare opportunity to encounter a touring work by Claude Monet as part of the National Gallery’s programme. In Close Enough, Hampsey invites us into a space where interior and exterior landscapes dissolve—where memory, lived experience, and environment fold into one another. Rooted in daily rhythms of making and living, her work moves fluidly between painting, labour, and life, holding moments of tension, distance, and intimacy in suspension. A multidisciplinary artist from the North West, Hampsey’s practice draws on autobiography, rural and urban landscapes, and art historical references—developing a vivid visual language of recurring motifs and symbolic forms.Join us as Blackpool’s leading independent visual arts studios, and continue the evening with the town’s leading institution for contemporary art.A night bringing together artists at all stages of their careers—across spaces, practices, and generations. FREE: refreshments will be provided. DONATIONS to Abingdons mission to see ‘Artists Being Supported’ are welcomed. ACCESS: Please note our project space is up flights of stairs on the second floor. We have toilet facilities on the first floor. @abingdonstudios_projectspace @abihampsey @grundyartgallery @aceagrams @creativeblackpool

I think I let myself live beyond the curtain Where the grass was greener. Sitting on the edges of rivers in foreign places, while rowers went by in the sun. What a life I thought. Sleeping beyond winter sunrise and daring to take the sun. You couldn’t see that the grass was in fact sharp. Only now, looking back and in on it all, do you see that. Gazing across the before hoping for those yesterdays to be dreams, while looking to the future for things you know can’t come true. Facts and fictions blur your sight. CLOSE ENOUGH is a publication made with @morecamberisopress to accompany my show at @abingdonstudios_projectspace . Reflecting upon my thoughts whilst making the show, referencing the work along side my daily rhythms, the text was the arm rest in which to lay my words throughout a difficult year of my own creation. For anyone who would like a copy of the book and won’t be able to make it to the show please give me a shout and I can post one out. And lastly massive thank you to Charlotte at Morecambe community Riso for helping me put this together 🙏🏼🙏🏼 . . . . . . . #publication #risoprint #exhibition #blackpool #gallery

Be part of creating Blackpool’s first-ever LGBTQIA+ digital archive with ‘We’re Still Here!’. We are recruiting 6 volunteers to help us uncover, document and celebrate this hidden history, taking part in research, gathering stories from the community and attending our fabulous programme of events. You’ll gain applicable experience in: - Public facing work in the creative heritage sector. - Oral history gathering and presentation. - Research skills and training in digitisation, cataloguing and more. - Experience in developing an exhibition with galleries and museums. This is a chance to help discover, preserve and protect stories that have never been recorded before. To celebrate the archive we develop, we will create two major exhibitions that connect Blackpool’s LGBTQIA+ heritage with national archives and collections. These will go on display next year from February to June, History Month to Pride Month, in @showtownbpl and @grundyartgallery . Application deadline: 5th May. Full details at abingdonstudios.org.uk. ‘We’re Still Here!’ is a project delivered by @abingdonstudios_projectspace and supported by @heritagefunduk .

It’s tomorrow! The very first ‘We’re Still Here! History Club’ takes place tomorrow evening at @showtownbpl with the brilliant @linden_archives … Explore the history of Blackpool’s iconic LGBTQ+ bars and clubs through photographs and articles, stories and conversation, with Stuart sharing unseen work from his amazing archive. 6-8pm, Showtown, 14 April. Places are free with refreshments provided ☕️🍰, book your spot at the @outsavvy 🔗 in our bio/stories and we can’t wait to see you there. 📷 by @linden_archives , Blackpool 1991. @heritagefunduk @abingdonstudios_projectspace

We are so excited to welcome back to Blackpool the brilliant @linden_archives , aka Stuart Linden Rhodes, for our very first ‘We’re Still Here! History Club’ at @showtownbpl on the 14 April. A pioneer of documenting LGBTQIA+ Northern nightlife in the nineties, Stuart was the roving reporter for APN and Gay Times. At our History Club, Stuart will be sharing some of his unseen Blackpool photographs taken between 1991-1995, as well as reading some of the articles that were published between those years too. Get ready for a fascinating glimpse into Blackpool’s iconic bar and club culture in the nineties. 6-8pm at Showtown, Tuesday 14 April. 🎟️ are free with refreshments provided 🍰 ☕️. 📷 of Stuart taken during the first phase of WSH! 2022 at our outdoor exhibition featuring seven photographs from the Linden Archives at @grundyartgallery .

To celebrate 20 years of @blackpoolpride , ‘We’re Still Here!’ is working in partnership with Blackpool Pride and inviting people to share their memories from two decades of Pride celebrations which will form part of an exciting new Community Archive for Blackpool ✨ Do you have a story about feeling proud in Blackpool? Have you marched in the Pride Parade along the Golden Mile? What does Pride mean today? We want to hear from you! We’re interested in your stories and memories in any format - be they photographs, videos, posters, event flyers, voice notes, written memories, or simply an email to start a conversation. For more details of how to get involved, check out our website at the 🔗.

Get ready for a fabulous evening at the very first ‘We’re Still Here! History Club’ with the incredible Stuart Linden Rhodes, aka @linden_archives , on Tuesday 14th April, presented in partnership with @showtownbpl . A pioneer of documenting queer Northern nightlife in the nineties, Stuart’s beautiful photographic documentation of Blackpool was presented as part of the first phase of ‘We’re Still Here!’ back in 2022, where we saw seven photographs from Stuart’s archive of Blackpool exhibited at the @grundyartgallery . The show lasted for over three months, spanning from LGBTQ+ History Month to Pride Month, and reached over 10,000 people. Now, to kickstart the next phase of the ‘We’re Still Here!’ project, Stuart returns to Blackpool to share unseen images from his archive and tell the firsthand stories behind them in conversation with @garthgratrix and @hclaytonwright . Stuart will also give us access to the articles written and published between those years (1991 -1995), which give a fascinating glimpse into Blackpool’s iconic LGBTQ+ bar and club culture in the nineties. 🎟️ are FREE and available at the 🔗 When: Tuesday 14th April Time: 6pm-8pm Location: Showtown, Bank Hey Street, Blackpool, FY1 4TQ ‘We’re Still Here!’, the first permanent collection of LGBTQIA+ Heritage in Blackpool, is a project run by @abingdonstudios_projectspace . With thanks to @heritagefunduk and National Lottery players.

✨ Come and work with us ✨ We’re Still Here! is looking for four freelance creative professionals to join our small team leading a distinct and exciting LGBTQIA+ arts and heritage project in Blackpool… “We’re Still Here! is a project that holds the sparkle of Blackpool’s sequin-drenched coastline in balance with the quieter, often hidden, abstract queer lived experiences that shape communities within the North’s largest coastal queer ecology. As both Founder and a Director of Abingdon Studios – and as an artist/curator who created the town’s first Pride arts and heritage exhibition in 2013 – it’s a thrill to be co-leading this project with fellow hometown star Harry Clayton-Wright. Alongside the town’s incredible entertainment heritage that we all know and love, We’re Still Here! centres everyday people and pride: archiving joy, care, graft and so much more. We are looking back as well as making sure a new archive exists for future generations to access and be inspired by. LGBTQIA+ voices are to be heard, remembered and celebrated.” Garth Gratrix - Project Director, We’re Still Here! If you want to get involved with our heritage project, full job descriptions and how to apply is available is on the Abingdon Studios website and Deadline for Monday 5th January, 2026: 1. Project Coordinator 2. Community Archivist Deadline for Monday 19th January, 2026: 3. Evaluation Consultancy 4. Fundraising Consultancy We’re Still Here! - c/o Abingdon Studios Ltd- is a project developed by artists @garthgratrix & @hclaytonwright . Thanks to @heritagefunduk and National Lottery players. Photo by @timonbenson , July 2025.

We’re Still Here! is looking to appoint freelance creative professionals to come and work with us on a distinct and exciting LGBTQIA+ arts and heritage project in Blackpool in 2026/27. We’re Still Here! will continue generating a community-built queer heritage collection, shaped by residents past and present. Building a team of community champions they will collect, archive and share oral histories and personal testimonies through accessible and creative means. We’re Still Here! will also map out Blackpool’s brilliant long-standing LGBTQIA+ history providing a framework for two major exhibitions running concurrently at @showtownbpl and @grundyartgallery in 2027. Deadline for Monday 5th January, 2026: • Project Coordinator • Community Archivist Deadline for Monday 19th January, 2026: • Evaluation Consultancy • Fundraising Consultancy Photos by Stuart Linden Rhodes aka @linden_archives . Image 1, 1992. Image 2, 1991. Design by @sarahferrari , colours by @garthgratrix . With thanks to @heritagefunduk and its players. We’re Still Here c/o Abingdon Studios, a project developed by @garthgratrix and @hclaytonwright .

We’re Still Here! awarded £235k from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an exciting series of public exhibitions in Blackpool in 2027. Abingdon Studios commissioned project We’re Still Here! is delighted to announce it has secured major funding for the continuation of a pioneering LGBTQIA+ heritage project. Drawing on their initial pilot in 2021, @garthgratrix and @hclaytonwright will continue generating a community-built queer heritage collection, shaped by residents past and present. Building a team of community champions they will collect, archive and share oral histories and personal testimonies through accessible and creative means. We’re Still Here! will also map out the town’s long standing LGBTQIA+ history, working with a historian and community archivist to research Blackpool’s brilliant history which will provide a framework for the two exhibitions in 2027, running concurrently, at @showtownbpl and @grundyartgallery . For the full story visit the Abingdon Studios website. Thanks to @heritagefunduk and National Lottery players. Photo 1 by @timonbenson at @theblackpooltower . Photos 2 and 3 by @linden_archives . #NationalLottery #HeritageFund

@abingdonstudios_projectspace @mcrcontemporary 👀 STAND 228. Enquire via DM, or come and see us on the final Sunday of the Art Fair. Some editions and unique works still available from artists we have commissioned through residencies, solo exhibitions, studio bursaries and development. #manchester #Contemporaryart With support from @aceagrams @grundyartgallery Curated by @garthgratrix & Tom Ireland. Artists: @tinadempseyartist @josephdoubtfire @holly_kilner_art @kaytwoods_ @will_hughes_art_ @garthgratrix @alanalake.studio @kristina_canavan_ @ann_carragher_ @timonbenson @abihampsey @horse_odyssey_ @s_a_m_w Tom Ireland Additional thanks to @will_hughes_art_ @horse_odyssey_ @isaacgreenart for invigilation support. #feelingthankful #painting #sculpture #mixedmediaarts #photography #collageart #ceramic #print #artfair #manchestercontemporary #abingdonstudios #buyart #artistsbeingsupported

✨ Abingdon Studios at The Manchester Contemporary ✨ @mcrcontemporary Find us at Stand 228 as we proudly celebrate 10 years of artist-led activity in Blackpool! We’re thrilled to present works for sale by artists: Timon Benson • Kris Canavan • Ann Carragher • Grace Clifford • Tina Dempsey • Joseph Doubtfire • Garth Gratrix • Abigail Hampsey • Will Hughes • Tom Ireland • Holly Kilner • Alana Lake • Sam Williams • Kayt Woods Our presentation brings together Abingdon Studios members, previous solo and group exhibitors, artist-in-residence alumni, and upcoming artists featuring in our 2026 exhibition programme. This year’s booth is supported through our 10 Year Anniversary Programme, funded by Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants, and through our ongoing artist development partnership with Grundy Art Gallery. Come see the work, support artists, and help shape the next chapter of Abingdon Studios. Abingdons 30% commission earnings through sales and donations at the art fair will form a new Artists Horizon Fund- supporting artists with access to micro bursaries that can help with studio costs, material making cost and other forms of continued professional development and self-directed learning. We hope to launch this in 2026 as part of our next decade mission to see Artists Being Supported. 💛 @abingdonstudios_projectspace @grundyartgallery @aceagrams @mcrcontemporary @kristina_canavan_ @tinadempseyartist @timonbenson @s_a_m_w @holly_kilner_art @josephdoubtfire @will_hughes_art_ @abihampsey @alanalake.studio @ann_carragher_ @kaythughes (Kayt Woods) @horse_odyssey_ @garthgratrix