Upcoming Exhibitions

Coming Soon:

Everest Revisited

Rheged Centre, Redhills
Penrith, Cumbria
CA11 0DQ

From Friday 6 December to Sunday 23 February

2024 is the centenary of Mallory and Irvine’s disappearance near the Summit of Everest, so what better time to choose Everest as the Exhibition theme for our Gallery, and bring lesser known stories and Everest ‘firsts’ to life using art, photography and film making.

Experience the most significant mountain-focused exhibition since the National Mountaineering Exhibition at Rheged nearly 20 years ago.  

Explore rarely-seen artefacts from the Alpine Club, the Mountain Heritage Trust, and the Royal Geographical Society. We revisit the Mallory and Irvine story with a new perspective, and present original artworks by Somervell and William Heaton Cooper, alongside historic photographs from the Wakefield Family archives.

In this inspiring exhibition, delve into the stories of Everest climbers, from pioneering adventurers to today’s record-setters—and uncover an array of Cumbrian connections.

Spanning over a century of mountaineering history, the exhibition will also reflect on thought-provoking themes of mountain waste, spirituality and motivation, and highlight the positive efforts underway to support mountain communities in Nepal, whose futures are dependant on sustainable mountain tourism.

You will also have the chance to discover contemporary artworks and sculptures by UK artists including Julian Cooper, Derek Eland, Alexander Heaton, Susan Dobson, Peter Kettle, Andy Parkin, and Ruth Charlton, as well as Cumbrian artist, film maker and photographer, Rob Fraser, along with a curated selection of Nepalese paintings and images by renowned photographer Mani Lama.

A programme of talks, films and debates will also be running in Rheged’s cinema alongside the exhibition.

10% of revenue generated from sales of my smaller artworks will be donated to Sagarmatha pollution control committee

£5 Entry | 16 & Under Free

Open Daily from 10am | Last Entry 4:30pm

The exhibition will take approximately 1 to 1 & ½ hours to walk through 

Past Exhibitions

Nepal Recycling Art Project 2023 and onwards…..

Im happy to be able to announce my proposal for working with Sagarmatha Next in Namche Bazaar, Nepal at the foot of Mount Everest has now been accepted. I plan to be working as part of the Sagamatha Next team as one of their artists in residence in the arts program of the new centre. The centre was due to officially open in the autumn 2020 but was delayed due to the global crisis. One of the first phases of the project will be to work with local Sherpa people to make valuable art pieces out of waste tin cans to help create products the locals can then sell on to tourist trekkers and mountaineers. Some prototypes for this are featured in the photos at the top of my shop page. (I plan to make painted sculptures of the iconic mountains of the Everest region.) This will benefit the community in three ways.

-Removal and re-purposing of waste which would otherwise end up in pits in the valley which pollutes the soil and many rivers of the Khumbu region. 

-Value created out valueless material through sales of up-cycled artworks which generates much needed revenue to help the local economy.

-Revenue generated through sales of these sculptures and paintings to continue to support and grow the Sagarmatha next project and centre, whose aim is to create a legacy of reduction, and eventually zero impact of pollution in the Everest region.

In addition to this I will be collaborating with local artists and children from the Edmund Hillary School to inspire and teach new ways to transform waste into things of beauty and worth. Future planed pieces and projects could include murals, decorative furniture, jewellery made from the ropes used to climb Everest and much, much more.... 

The larger Sagarmatha Next Waste to Art project has been supported in part by the Denali Foundation. However your continuing support via my patreon page is still very important as being away from the UK for over a month I will be working for free whilst in Nepal. Your much appreciated patronage will help me cover my basic living costs whilst working in Nepal such as food and accommodation. Please spread the word about this important project and help me grow my supporter base. Through supporting me, you are in turn enabling me to collaborate in the preservation and conservation of one of the most beautiful yet under funded national parks of the world.

Thank you,

Alex.