TESTIMONIALS

Thank you Val, for introducing Rachel and I to each other. It was a real stroke of genius recognising that our work combined would be make such a beautiful collaboration, and we are very grateful to you for this. Our week exhibiting at The Chair was magical in many ways. The gallery gave us the opportunity to celebrate our work in such an intimate and non intimidating way. Seeing our work displayed with space to breathe, dancing around in the sunlight through the window was so exciting. It was a complete joy to spend time there, meeting other creatives, making wonderful connections and allowing our work to be seen. A real dream. Thank you so very much. Until next time…

Bethany Wells

Val was a fantastic support and mentor and really helped me to work towards my first solo show at The Chair. Over the course of a few months she helped me put together the show through a combination of studio visits and one to one support with the gallery and exhibition itself. Her support and creative eye offered a much needed additional perspective and her wealth of knowledge of bringing together an exhibition was invaluable to my experience of showing for the first time at The Chair.  I hugely valued her experience in the art world, her passion and warm encouraging approach. 

The mentoring process started with an initial studio visit to discuss the progress of the work for the show. Val offered a very helpful additional perspective and eye which was invaluable to me as I am an artist who works mostly on their own like many and this show to me was the launch of a new body of work and a new direction, so it was the ideal time to engage some external support.  By having Val’s insight and mentoring at this time in the show preparation I was able to see how I wanted the show to come together and it really helped my planning and confidence in the work both technically for the space, in terms of the specifics of measuring and choosing pieces for the space, and also creatively. 

We then planned a second visit before the work went to be framed which was the final curation of work for both the e-catalogue and the show itself. 

I commissioned the e-catalogue and invitation for the show through the mentoring process. Both were beautifully designed and Val oversaw the creation of this marketing collateral. The e-catalogue showcased the work to a much wider audience through the digital reach . I received a number of sales directly from the e-catalogue before the show opened and it has served as a brilliant portfolio for this body of work and I would definitely catalogue my work this way in the future. The art market has become much more open for emerging artists and buyers to access work online and the e-catalogue added a lot to my marketing before and after the physical show itself. 

The mentoring process also extended to advice and positioning of the hang on the first day in The Chair. The gallery itself takes a huge variety of work and as the walls change so frequently it is wonderful to see the space transform with all the artists very different styles and media. Val’s expertise in the hang were vital for me and her experience and calmness were hugely beneficial on what could have been a nerve wracking day when there is of course a great deal to think about. 

Polly James

Exhibiting at The Chair Gallery afforded me the unique opportunity to have a solo show as a recently graduated student. The week in the gallery allowed me to both sell and showcase work outside of a university context, without the massive costs which would have prevented me from normally doing so. Hay-on-Wye is a hub of creativity in rural Wales, and its position as a tourist destination and market town makes for an opportunity to meet lots of people throughout the duration of the week. Val Harris and the artists renting the studios above the gallery were friendly and helpful throughout the whole process of the show. I’d strongly recommend the experience to other young artists and recent graduates – The Chair Gallery is a unique space in a bustling market town – and opportunities like this are rare in the current art world.

Isobel Craggs Alferoff

The Chair is a wonderful gallery and exhibiting my paintings there for a week in August 2024 was a positive and valuable experience. Val was really good at communicating with me via e-mail prior to my exhibition and I felt everything was very clearly laid out in advance.

The Chair is situated in a prime position in Hay on Wye and accessing the building to install my work was most straightforward, with parking right outside the gallery. Furthermore, there is a basement area to store tools etc, which was most helpful during my exhibition. The signage in the window, which was provided by Val, looked fabulous and the local shops and cafes were happy to display flyers advertising my exhibition and spread the word.

We were met by the delightful Jessie on Sunday morning and as well as providing us with the key to the gallery for the week, she remained on hand and supportive throughout our time at The Chair. My paintings can be heavy and one area of support that Jessie provided, was to identify which walls were slightly softer than the others, (as one would expect in an old building) so that I could work out the best positioning of my works.

During the installation of my paintings, we had several visitors who popped their heads around the door, and before we had officially opened, two paintings were sold, with one finding its new home in London and another heading off to Holland!

We opened around 10 am and stayed open until 5 pm with a steady stream of visitors each day. The Chair is positioned in the marketplace and next to a very popular ice cream parlour so lots of interest in the paintings in the window of the gallery from passers-by. (The Lebanese coffee ice cream is too die for)

We had a PV on Thursday evening although with hindsight, we might have done it earlier in the week when we first opened. We also changed the original time of 7.00 pm that we had planned for this event, to 5.30 pm as Hay on Wye is really quite quiet after this time. We had some lovely visitors and quite a jolly evening.

The gallery really is a lovely space with a handy loo upstairs and an area to wrap up paintings for buyers who want to take them there and then. A long trestle table provides a professional appearance to the space and a handy place to work and also to lay out postcards etc.

De-installing my works on the Sunday, was again straightforward and we made good all the walls with the touchup paint provided by Val. 

During the week I sold 4 large paintings, made lots of new contacts, received fantastic feedback, and had a poem written about one of my paintings by a young poet who was visiting Hay on Wye with his partner and young child. Furthermore, my Instagram account has grown considerably as so many new contacts were made during the week. 

I would wholeheartedly recommend having an exhibition at The Chair which is a fantastic space, with super support from both Val and Jessie both before and during the week and I hope to exhibit my own work there again at some point in the future!

Jonny Church

When Val was thinking about 'Walls for a Week,' we immediately thought it would be an ideal space for WAC to exhibit, and we were certainly proved right!

Arriving mid morning on Monday for the set-up, we were welcomed by Jess, who was very helpful and supportive. She showed us around the space which included the basement where you could store work, with a kettle, coffee machine and several boxes of glasses useful for a private view. Additional storage under the front window was also very handy.

The unloading was easy, and we could park in the market square while we sorted everything out and started the hang. The window signage was up (organised by Val), and we came equipped with nails, hammers and, most importantly, a hanging plan, which really helped, especially as getting the right balance with two painters can be tricky. We'd been to the gallery before, so we were familiar with the space but had not fully appreciated the window area - not only for displaying work to draw people in but also for filling the gallery with light.

The gallery's established reputation and position in the town's main square was a real bonus, not to mention being right next door to Shepherds—very good coffee and ice cream to die for!

Val was very generous with her time and support. She advertised the exhibition through social media and her contacts in the Hay community, which helped enormously as we were not from the area. We loved the Instagram collaborations, and they were a great way of easily and effectively advertising the exhibition.

We opened on Tuesday and had a pretty steady flow of people throughout the week, with Thursday, Friday, and Saturday being our busiest days. The people coming in were definitely interested and engaged, and we received a lot of positive feedback about the work and curation. One of our most important things was having our own space to show the work how we wanted to.

Our week at The Chair was truly enjoyable. We (WAC) have exhibited together in various locations, but this experience was one of the best in terms of the gallery space, location, and public interaction. We would definitely consider showing again in the future.

WAC

I had visited the Chair very recently when I saw the post about it being available to rent for a week at a time. I was immediately interested as it’s a lovely space, beautifully decorated and perfectly situated in the bustling town of Hay on Wye. I was thrilled when I was selected to exhibit. 

As I don’t live in the area I knew I couldn’t rely on many friends  to visit so I decided not to have a pv and just open the doors and welcome visitors. 

Val was excellent at communicating and extremely helpful when I arrived, giving me freedom to put up my exhibition and then giving expert help when I needed it. A reason for wanting to be in The Chair was to branch out somewhere new and just be with my work and see what happens. The collaborative social media posts by Val were fantastic , including a short reel , which pushed me way out of my normal comfort zone! 

I had a great week, with lovely feedback and conversations and meeting other artists who I had only known from instagram. The sales were a mixture of friends and visitors on holiday and a lot of cards. I had planned to have more very small paintings but for various reasons had mostly large and very large work. So main goal was to be happy with the hanging of the exhibition and then to be seen by a new audience. I felt satisfied I had achieved that and made sales too! 

I would happily make a return to the Chair and have recommended it to my artist’s friends. 

Thank you Val for giving me the opportunity.

Tina Balmer

When Val offered the Hay Festival slot to share with Jo Davies, I couldn't have been more lucky. We shared the space perfectly and as it is a busy time in Hay, we could share the curating and decide to have longer opening hours some days because we could give each other many breaks throughout the fortnight.

The space is a joy to hang in and everything comes together very quick and easy, especially as the space is the perfect balance of the light and dark wall colours which help compliment any work. Many people asked whether we had decorated the walls to suit our work!

We had a private view on the evening of our opening day and several locals joined us, along with friends and family.

Our exhibition of work created a harmony that drew people in through the doors and many did during the festival fortnight. The footfall was high and sales were steady.

Collaborating on Instagram was fun with many videos made and with a lot of support shared.

The conversations were many and those that come to Hay and look at art are a very appreciative crowd and that was the highlight of my time in the gallery, talking to people who could understand what it is we creatives are all trying to do. I was very pleased to cover costs, make a profit and come away with a commission.

I would certainly do this all again and thank Val and Jess for making it a very easy process and I certainly enjoyed seeing my name alongside Jo's in the window.

Siwan Gillick

The get in on a quiet Tuesday was made easy by being able to park my large van on the market square.

Hanging onto the walls was 99% fine. There are a few favourite crumbling spots .

Advertising and signage I love the window decal and teaming up on insta was great too. 

I didn't want a PV but I did take full advantage of having both weekends to invite absolutely everyone I knew to come and see my exhibition. And as you know it's very nice to have an exhibition in a destination town, it takes the pressure off and frees you up to invite people to come for a day out.

I opened every day 11 - 4

Public engagement and sales, I think 60% of my sales were to friends 20% to Vals friends 20% walk ins off the street. My work was unframed and out of the studio, with a lot of small birds so the prices were quite low. I aimed at £100 per day.

Good days and quiet days depending on Hay markets. My slot was two weeks before the festival and by the last weekend there were noticeably more tourists in town.

You always get useful feedback with direct contact with buyers and direct payment if they buy.

Facilities - all fine, great to know where to park all day for free.

Take down was simple and quiet on a low traffic day. 

I loved being left in control  of my own space I opened everyday, lots of friends came. I took something to work on which gave it a studio vibe I hope and it is great to get all those pictures out of the studio and plan chest and put them up on the wall.

Lois Hopwood