the greenhouse is the Guernsey Arts Commission’s dedicated space committed to the nurture, cultivation and exhibition of ideas and projects. As a non-commercial space the greenhouse has the opportunity to bring the more unique and innovative to Guernsey.

Centrally located in the Guernsey Information Centre (where the Arts
Development Team Offices are housed), the greenhouse remains focused on providing a diverse programme while also giving the opportunity, through a far reaching workshop programme, to increase participation in a wide range of arts activities.

If you would like to discuss a potential project / exhibition for
the greenhouse please do contact the Arts Development Team via:
info@arts.gg or telephone (01481) 709747.

the greenhouse
Guernsey Information Centre
North Esplanade
St Peter Port
GY1 2LQ

Opening hours:

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-1pm, Sunday closed

Free Admission

Current Exhibition: Living Positive

Exploring the lives of people affected by or living with HIV through photography and word.

Originating in Manchester, artist Lottie Barnes worked in partnership with a HIV/AIDS charity facilitating a series of workshops; participants were given disposable cameras and Lottie’s role was to help them turn their thoughts and emotions into images and words.

Previous Exhibitions

Etched in Memory

Thursday 14th February – Wednesday 3rd April

The exhibition includes images of the Fermain boat, the Herm & Jethou boat the Martha Gunn, the Sunderland sea plane pictured unusually in the Careening Hard (it was carrying a football team to Guernsey when it sank in the harbour) , beachgoers enjoying the sunshine at Moulin Huet and the ‘Witch of Sark’ to name a few. This is the first time some of these images have been on public view (some had been made into postcards previously) the original plates (which were recently discovered in a loft) have never been on public view and the images taken from the plates will be wall size printouts.  We’re hoping, on this scale, locals will have a chance to identify some of the people!

The   images which range from the late 1800’s through to the 1950’s include the work of Thomas Alfred Grut, founder of T A Gruts’ Photographic Studio, his son Norman Grut and other Gruts’ photographers and along with the help of Mike Deane and his photographic archive this promises to be a fascinating exhibition.

Six of the Best

Thursday 20 September – Thursday 31 January

In this show, the Guernsey Arts Commission is taking a look at SIX OF THE BEST artworks from Guernsey schools’ 2012 Final Year Shows. The selected works come from the diverse art courses delivered across the island’s further education establishments.

SIX OF THE BEST is an exhibition of local students’ work which showcases the best of the Grammar School, Elizabeth College, Ladies’ College, and the College of Further Education end of year shows. These artworks have been created by Flo Le Couteur, Joel Lewis, Harry Martel, Joshua Moore, Harry Stephens and Brad Sumner.

Spanning a wide range of arts disciplines from clay work to woodwork and sculpture, images of New York City in acrylic paint on canvas to charcoal on wood the process offers Guernsey students a chance to display their work to a different audience and experience being involved in an exhibition, many for the first time outside the confines of their schools.

Sponsored by Natwest

CAI GUO QIANG – Beijing Games: Sketches & Video

6th July – 31st August 2012

The Guernsey Arts Commission in association with the Arts and Islands Foundation has invited one of todays leading Chinese-born artists to have an exhibition in Guernsey. Cai Guo-Qiang was the Director of Visual and Special Effects for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Four years on and to coincide with the London Olympics, we have the opportunity to see 30 sketches that Cai produced for these two ceremonies. These drawings and video projections will be on display in the greenhouse until the end of August.

forwards, backwards and forwards again

05 April – 17th June
Locally born Tim is a documentary photographer (currently London based) who, for this unique project in Guernsey, directed and shot a short film on the island. Working with the Guernsey Arts Commission, he travelled to Guernsey (where he grew up and his family still live) to make the film Firedive at La Vallette bathing pools, drawing on memories of swimming galas from years past to create a historic portrait of the pools. As part of this film, shot in 2010, he filmed a torch-lit procession around the pools evoking the era when the pools were still used for extravagant swimming galas. At that time the procession would have been followed by a “firedive” in which a diver would launch themselves, from the 5 metre board, down through a circle of flaming petrol on the surface of the water.

In August 2011, at a world premiere, the Firedive film was screened poolside as part of the 125^th anniversary celebrations of the Guernsey Swimming Club. At that time, three artists also came to the island with Tim with a brief to make new artwork in response to the film screening, the gala and the bathing pools. They spent a week on Guernsey before heading back to the UK to finish their work. The experience, along with their time spent in Guernsey, has resulted in the work that makes up the Forwards, backwards and forwards again exhibition.

Dictating the Style

17th February – 30th March
This Design Matters exhibition was an exploraton through the work of internationally acclaimed set-designer Maurice Strike. “Styles will vary according to the chemistry of the setting, budget and people involved……As an actor, director or designer, we are all servants of the play; with respect, the interpretation of the play will dictate the style.” Maurice Strike, Dec 2011
It is the first time that this series, which explores how art and design work together, has looked at costume and set design and the GAC was delighted to have someone of the calibre of Maurice Strike who has worked professionally in this field for many years.  “With over 120 productions and projects designed over the past 50 years in several countries, this exhibition is an opportunity for me to see the broad sweep and direction of one’s life. At times productions have been wildly romantic and gothic, others have been earthed in the joy and suffering of people. I have strived over the years to bring a little joy and colour into people’s lives.” Maurice Strike, December 2011

POST-CHRISTMAS

18 November – 31 January
Celebrating four decades of Guernsey’s striking Christmas stamp collections and part of the Design Mattersseries.
Every year since 1969 the Guernsey Post Office has commissioned a series of stamps to coincide with Christmas that have gained a following from collectors and enthusiasts around the world.

The exhibition was timed to coincide with the publication of the 2011 edition Winter Wonderland which featured photography of local landmarks and the Alderney set of stamps entitled An Alderney Winter Wonderland.

As well as the new editions you were able to see a selection of original artworks from the past four decades of Christmas stamps.

10 of the Best

9th September – 5th November

This exhibition will take a look at 10 of the Best pieces of art from Guernsey’s school’s final year art shows.

The selection has been made by Arts and Visual Culture graduate Justiene Boughey and features a range of works from paintings and photographs to illustrations and videos.

The exhibition will give the artists a chance to show off their work to a wider audience beyond their schools and colleges as well as giving them the opportunity to experience of being involved in a gallery based show.

We’ve Got It Covered

14 April – 29 August 2011

This exhibition, coincides with the first Guernsey Literary Festival and focuses on the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

The phenomenal success of this book, worldwide, has led to a vast range of versions being published internationally and in this exhibition we are gathering together as many of the editions as possible and showcasing the very different dust jackets that have been produced.

We are working closely with the UK publishers Bloomsbury and have launched a Design a Dust Jacket competition with the students at the Colleges and the winning entries will also be on display.

As well as the displays there will be editions from around the world to pick up and handle and the author’s daughter is lending part of her collection.

See more photos to get a taster of the exhibition on the Guernsey Arts Commission’s Facebook page.

Reclassified

29 January – 31 March 2011

The latest exhibition in the Guernsey Arts Commission’s Design Matters series of shows which looks at the work of creatives both on and off the island. Reclassified is curated by Adam Roberts who has invited graphic designers from Guernsey and the UK to redesign a classified advert from our very own Guernsey Press. The artists (given just one month) re-imagined how the text from a classified ad could be reinvented as a portrait-sized A4 artwork. The results are now on show at the greenhouse along with an innovative newspaper style ‘catalogue’. Please visit and let us know what your think in the Visitors’ Book.

White Christmas

19 November – 24 January 2011

Commissioner and artist Eric Snell was invited to curate our latest exhibition. For this he asked artists, architects, photographers and designers from around the world, to make an artwork based on ‘White Christmas’. Each invitee received a small 5 inch square primed canvas and had just one month to complete and return their work. The exhibition White Christmas is an exciting snapshot of the variety of current practice being explored in the visual arts.

Uncharted Island

17 September – 5 November 2010

The Uncharted Island exhibition was a collection of artworks that used mapping techniques and concepts to investigate the island of Guernsey. Thirteen artists based in Guernsey and elsewhere produced work specifically for the show in response to an invitation to make a ‘map’ of the island.

RIBA Downland Prize 2009

9 July 2010 – 8 September 2010

The RIBA Downland Prize was a selection of the shortlisted Architectural Projects to be considered for the winning project of the 2009 RIBA Downland Prize.

Andy Goldsworthy

Exhibition of Drawings

10 June 2010 – 5 July 2010

This exhibition by renowned British artist, Andy Goldsworthy was a collection of 33 of his drawings relating to his large scale Alderney Stones Project. These fascinating drawings are made using the clay found in Alderney.

Photomarathon Exhibition

6 Hours, 12 Topics, 1 Shot

14 May 2010 – 31 May 2010

This exhibition was the result of a 6 hour photography competition which took place on the May Bank Holiday, Monday 3 May. 80 Contestants had 6 hours to take 12 pictures on topics that were given to them in groups of 4 every 2 hours. Contestants were only allowed 1 photo per topic and the use of digital cameras were not allowed.