Artists in Residence

Our Artist in Residence Programme, launched to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2012, helps to enrich all aspects of life across the Estate.

The programme is currently closed for applications. At this stage are uncertain when, or whether, this is something that we'll be doing again in future.

In September 2012, we launched the first in a series of Artist Residencies, to develop over the following 3 years.

The focus for the first year was to work with an artist who specialised in participatory practice and whose work has synergy with the principles and values of the trust.

We chose Penny Skerrett as our Artist in Residence for 2012. Penny lived at the Boat House (next to Bathing House) for a period of six weeks.

In 2013, our choice was verse playwright Peter Oswald together with mythologist Martin Shaw who shared a joint Writers' Residency at Sharpham.

They collaborated on writing a promenade performance play that was staged on the Estate in Summer 2014. This exciting project explored the myth of Parzival through the environment and context of Sharpham and was very successful - with a run of sold-out performances. See the separate page for feedback, pictures and the Parzival video trailer.

In 2015, we commissioned Robin Lacey to create The Circle - a cast-bronze surround for the Ancestors' Fire at Sharpham Meadow Natural Burial Ground. See a slideshow of the unveiling ceremony on Robin's page here.

The Arts at Sharpham

Sharpham House offers a wonderfully creative space with a long history of supporting the arts dating back to the 1960s with the Ash family, who owned the house at the time and who were generous patrons of the arts.

Many artists and writers have visited and stayed at Sharpham and have been enriched by the beauty of the surroundings including the poet Brian Patten, visual artist Sarah Gillespie and the Polish painter Zdzislaw Ruszkowski - whose work is peppered through Sharpham House (detail from picture above).

The House contains a diverse and inspiring collection of paintings and sculptures both old and new with works by 20th century sculptor Barbara Hepworth and 17th century Dutch landscape painter Aelbert Cuyp.