The past 12 months has seen hugely significant progress for Chester Visual Arts.

Becoming a registered charity and gaining the support of Arts Council England has greatly enhanced our aim of establishing a permanent, public visual arts centre and exhibition space in Chester.

Over 10,000 people visited our two V&A touring exhibitions The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize and Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers. Alongside these exhibitions we held numerous talks, artist-led workshops and performances.

We have made significant strides in developing our educational programme as one of our core activities. New relationships have been established with secondary schools, colleges and universities across the North West. Our Learning Programme Manager has instigated and delivered Travelling Presentations to schools and a new Instagram educational resource. We hosted several tours and workshops with students of all ages.Top right: Chance 

To raise awareness about CVA’s ambitions, in July, Lord Cholmondeley hosted a private reception at Cholmondeley Castle for over 100 regional, national and international cultural and business leaders.

After vacating the Old Library building in late September, we have been working hard behind the scenes on our plans for 2020 and beyond. Several exciting projects are in the pipeline, so we now need to raise the funds necessary to implement these plans and establish a professional structure that would enable CVA to realise its rich potential as an arts organisation with dedicated staffing and capacity.

If you would like to support CVA in any way at this crucial juncture in our development, please get in touch via email. Alternatively, sign up to our mailing list, on the website, for our latest news.

As 2019 draws to a close and we move towards an exciting 2020, we would like to express our appreciation to our funders, partners, artists, visitors, staff, volunteers and everyone who has supported CVA this year.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Chester Visual Arts