Additional Features
ExhibitionsGlass
Jewellery
Metal
Paintings
Paper
Sculptures
Textiles
Ceramics
Photography
Wood
Description
Anne Toms' Yarmouth Gallery is a small and stylish exhibition space located at the heart of the ancient harbour town of Yarmouth, at the westerly corner of the beautiful Isle of Wight.Early Beginnings
Anne Toms has a long provenance of exhibiting art in the small harbour town of Yarmouth, dating back to the early 1970s when she first exhibited her paintings in a disused coach booking office in Yarmouth Square, now the lifestyle shop, Blue. During the following two decades, the venue moved around the town to various empty buildings and temporary shops, before settling in the tiny Studio on the Quay, which she shared with potter Wendy Franklin, and where they stayed until the late 1980s.
Return to Yarmouth
A ten-year break followed, during which Anne was Artistic Director at the Island's art centre, Quay Arts. She returned to Yarmouth to help set up the "Alchemist Gallery" on the magnificently spacious first floor of Foresters Hall. It was 1997 and from the outset, this was an artist led project. Photographer, John Cleave, managing administration, painter, Anne Toms, marketing, potter Amanda Toms sourcing craft work from around the UK and potter, Seijii Yoshida, artist in residence.
Current Set Up
In 2004, spurred on by the problems of a leaky roof and creaking windows, the Alchemist Gallery moved out of the Forresters Hall's magnificent first floor to take up residence in the altogether more manageable ground floor and took on a new persona. Anne Toms' Yarmouth Gallery was born. A cool and simple space with excellent access from the street, the new gallery provides a superb setting for displaying both 2d and 3d artwork. Now joint partners, Anne Toms and John Cleave, are joined by David Toms, who deals with sales administration. Other key part-time and voluntary personnel, include painter and freelance arts administrator, Mary Clemmensen and arts graduate, Patti Mollensen.
Bistro & Bar
On the first floor of Forresters Hall, the roof has been fixed and the whole floor sympathetically revamped to create a great new bistro and bar, which besides providing memorably delicious food, has recently opened its wall space to allow Yarmouth Gallery to feature a 'Guest Artist of the Month'.
Mission Statement
It is our aim to promote original art, craft and design work by artists resident on the Isle of Wight and around the UK by providing an attractive, commercially viable and accessible exhibition space from which to sell. Our gallery is not supported by public funding and must meet all its overheads from turnover. We work to achieve fair prices for our artists and to pay a fair wage to those who work for us.
Exhibition Policy
It is our policy to exhibit and sell only work that originates within the UK and especially on the Isle of Wight and the nearby mainland. We sell both on a commission basis (sale or return) and where appropriate, buy for resale. Wall space in the gallery is quite restricted and it is currently used primarily to show the paintings of resident artist and arts director, Anne Toms. Guest artists are featured on a monthly basis in the adjacent entrance, stairway and main restaurant and bar area of the (first floor) Forresters Bistro and Wine Bar. Forresters is a totally separate business and offers Yarmouth Gallery this facility purely as an act of goodwill. Guest artists are invited at the discretion of Yarmouth Gallery. If you wish to be one of our guests, please contact [email protected] to introduce yourself. Please attach at least six jpg images of your recent work, brief biography and artists statement. Yarmouth Gallery will charge commission on sales to cover administration and marketing costs. More details are available on application.
Environmental Policy
All human activity uses energy and raw materials, the arts are no exception. Trying to balance the use of valuable and scarce commodities with the desire to make and own beautiful objects is not easy; however, most art and craft creations are extremely labour intensive, demanding a high input of human effort, imagination and skill in relation to small quantities of raw materials and fossil fuel energy. The creative processes involved in making art also lead to heightened awareness of the intrinsic qualities and value of raw materials. The art object is likely to be highly appreciated and valued for many decades or even centuries - the direct opposite of the easy come - easy go philosophy of a throwaway society that trashes huge quantities of raw materials without thought.
At Anne Toms' Yarmouth Gallery we aim to:
- Provide a pleasant and safe working and exhibiting environment for all who use our space
- Keep energy use under control by switching off all electrical appliances at night (lighting is on time switches))
- Re-use packaging , re-cycle cardboard, minimise paper printouts and give priority to electronic and telephone communications
- Use regular postal services where possible for deliveries
- Use eco friendly cleaning materials