Culture Spark pop-up art in Chichester and Petworth

It comes from Culture Spark, a Chichester district wide initiative set up last year to mark a year of anniversaries. 2022 saw 60 years of Chichester Festival Theatre; ten years of the Festival of Chichester; 40 years of Chichester’s Pallant House Gallery; 30 years of Chichester Cinema at New Park’s international film festival; ten years of The Novium Museum; and 200 years of the Canal Trust.

Culture Spark wound down at the end of last year but is now back in business for a series of events across the year – after Chichester District Council announced it would fund another two and a half years of events, live entertainment and community projects to celebrate the rich and diverse range of cultural and heritage experiences in the district. Now comes the exhibition.

Caroline Sharman-Mendoza, creative co-ordinator for the campaign, explains: “Following in the footsteps of the exhibited artists, we invited nine local, professional artists to lead a series of creative workshops for schools and community groups across the Chichester district. Those who participated all live and enjoy the Sussex landscape daily. Together they created their own artworks inspired by those landscapes and, where possible, made them from natural or recyclable materials. Please join us at 23 South Street our pop-up shop in Chichester and enjoy our community sand art created on West Wittering beach, land art created with the wood cuttings from Petworth House and Gardens, felt landscapes and flowers, chalk sheep, willow leaves and lanterns and large collages full of memories of the Sussex landscapes, mixed media relief sculptures and 3D characters inspired by the Long Man of Wilmington. “

The Pop Up exhibition will be in Chichester on Saturday, March 18 10am-4pm and in Petworth on Sunday, March 19 11am-3.30pm (The Battery House, Petworth House & Park, GU28 0DP) with all day family friendly drop-in workshops.