PALIMPSEST, Group Show 2026

We’re excited to announce our annual exhibition featuring 30 local artists, exploring the theme of PALIMPSEST.

Friday 23 & Saturday 24
Friday 30 & Saturday 31
October.

Open daily 10 am to 5 pm.

Opening party, Friday 23 October, 6 to 9 pm,
everyone welcome.

Free Artist led workshops run throughout the days.

We are a community-run art collective, this exhibition is free entry and welcome to all.

The exhibition will take place in the **Old School Hall, The Mansion, Totnes, TQ9 5RP**.

Directions: from Fore St, go through the outdoor side entrance next to the Mansion building
into the courtyard behind, carry on past The Canteen cafe.
Enter the glass door Library entrance at the back of the courtyard, go up to the top floor (via lift or stairs).
There you will find the Old School Hall , opposite the Library.

ARTISTS

Our artists are coming together to create a truly multi-disciplined exhibition which will combine mixed-media, painting, sculpture, illustration, ceramics, textiles, digital art & film, print, music, sound art, drawing, photography, installation and works that cross the boundaries of description!

Artists include: Abbi Torrance, Amelia Philip, Ava Obiston, The Animist Artist, Beth Heaney, Cheryl Tipple-Trepat, Chris McNiven, Debbie Horton, Fabio Monni, Faye Mcniven, Gary Winters, Hannah Brewer, James Laycock, Julie Pallot, Katy Thompson, Lou Selene, Lucca Catharina, Maisie Doherty, Marie Stockmarr Becker, Mary Edwards, Nick Walters, Oli Haines, Rachael Cretney, Rosa Weber, Rudi Trepat, Ruth Newman, Sarah Greening, Shelley Hodgson, Trav, Verity Newman, Wallis Eates.

MORE ON THE THEME

Our artists are exploring the idea of layering of time, reusing, overwriting, or changing of purpose. In textual studies, a palimpsest is a parchment manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text was scraped off and re-used. Examples of palimpsests can be found in many ancient cultures.

The term Palimpsest has been used in other areas to describe visible layering.
In geology it refers to landscapes containing superimposed landforms created at different times, where older, relict features coexist with modern, active ones, mirroring a reused manuscript.
In architecture it refers to buildings or cityscapes that display visible, accumulated layers of historical development, where remnants of the past coexist with newer structures.
In planetary astronomy, palimpsest is the term for an ancient crater that has been degraded over time. They may also be referred to as “ghost craters”, “degraded craters”, “buried craters”, or “pathological craters”.

FREE WORKSHOPS & LIVE PERFORMANCE

Marie Stockmarr Becker will be performing musical sequences around the Palimpsest theme in dialogue with Fabio Monni artworks, layering and transforming musical elements from early (medieval and Baroque) music, folk songs, and free improvisations.

Performing Daily – Please check back on this page for times coming shortly

THE FOGOU – ‘Palimpsest’ installation build – anyone welcome to join us on Friday 23 October for the building of a found-object structure which will resemble a Cornish Fogou!

The real use of the dry-stone underground structures we know as a ‘Fogou’ today has been lost in the layers of time since their creation by iron-age people in the South West. We invite you to build and add layers to our structure, using sustainable re-used objects, and craft materials. Climb inside and feel the full power of the FOGOU! Led by four artists – **Cheryl Tipple-Trepat** , **Lucca Catharina** , **Julie Pallot** & Katy Thompson.

Fri 23 Oct 10 am – 4 pm – drop by anytime

MECCANO ART – Breathe new life to the meccano that sits in the attic all alone and unloved.
Create your own wall hanging to enjoy at home.
Bring along your own meccano or use what we provide. All ages welcome with carer present.
Led by artist Katy Thompson

Sat 24 Oct – 10 am till 12 noon

POETRY & COLLAGE – Experiments have been done in the past by Dada artists into creating poetry through merging different snippets of sentences, ‘found-phrases’ and layering words. In this thought experiment we will be approaching poetry like a collage, and then involving physical collage elements to create your final piece. Led by artist **Julie Pallot**.

Fri 30 Oct – 2.30 pm – 4 pm

LOOPING SOUND – Get sampling, overlaying, and experimental with an audio looping machine!
Led by artist **Maisie Doherty** .

Sat 31 Oct – 10.30 am – 12 noon

FLOWERS – Expressive mark making with foraged flowers and plants, both a collaborative session and with something individual to take home. Led by artist and craft maker Hannah Brewer.

Sa t 21 Oct – 2 pm – 3.30 pm

More workshops to be announced, dates and times for workshops, art & music performance information to come – watch this space!