A sensational showcase of contemporary tapestry making is set to delight visitors to a stately home on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border as it makes its national debut.

The Heallreaf 5 exhibition has opened in the Rose Paterson Art Gallery at Weston Park, where it will be on show for free until August 29.

The vibrant exhibition features modern works produced using centuries-old traditional techniques and Weston is the first stop on the exhibition’s national tour which also takes in London and Cumbria.

Gareth Williams, Curator to the Weston Park Foundation which owns the Rose Paterson gallery, said the exhibition reflected a key part of the foundation’s role of inspiring the future from the nation’s heritage.

“Using centuries-old weaving techniques, exhibitors produce beautiful and thought-provoking works.  Although the imagery of the works at Heallreaf 5 is unlikely to include medieval maidens or unicorns, you will find vibrant images – sometimes representational, sometimes abstract – based upon subjects such as climate change, social injustice or the displacement of populations.  

“Just as medieval tapestries told stories, so too these works also produce a startling contemporary narrative that’s relevant to their time.

“We are honoured that the Rose Paterson Art Gallery is the first venue of Heallreaf 5 in 2024 before it travels to the Morley Gallery in London and then onto Fairfield Mill in Cumbria.”

Weston Park is famous for its own collection of tapestry, including the globally-important set of Gobelins tapestries and also early eighteenth-century works by John Vanderbanks Soho tapestry manufactory.

Heallreaf is a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2015 to solely organise tapestry exhibitions and to promote excellence in this remarkable hand-woven medium.  

Over the years Heallreaf has brought high quality tapestries from across the world and displayed them to a wider audience.  

The name Heallreaf is an old English word meaning a tapestry hung in a public place and is pronounced ‘hair-ll-reff’.

Heallreaf 5 runs until August 29 in the Rose Paterson Art Gallery. The Art Gallery is free to enter and is open daily from 11am – 4pm.

For more information visit https://weston-park.com/heallreaf-5/