The 2026 Summer Exhibition will feature work by invited artists from Derbyshire and beyond.

The invited professional artists are Bernadine Rutter (printmaking and photography); Valerie Dalling (photography); Wendy Darker (painting and ceramics); Danny Grabham (ceramics) Zaza Lewis (collage and painting); Helen Cammiss (painting).

Zaza Lewis

The following quote describes Zaza’s work:

“Zaza describes herself as a mixed media textile artist, but that barely begins to capture the originality of her process. Her art combines intricate paper cuts, designed and cut by hand with a scalpel, layered over hundreds of colourful fabrics. Originally from the Southwest of France, Zaza now calls Derby home. Her dual heritage shines through in her artwork, combining the warmth and vibrancy of her French roots with a contemporary creativity from her adopted country.” TRENDNG publication.

Valerie Dalling

Valerie Dalling is an established outdoor artist using photography as a means of expression, while supporting health and wellbeing.

Living within the Peak District National Park, photographic opportunities are endless, but also quite challenging, as Valerie aims to explore different ways of making deeper connections within an already popular and much photographed landscape.

Initially drawn to a scene by light, colour, shape and texture, rather than having any preconceived ideas she will always keep an open mind when it comes to her creative interpretation.

Valerie continually strives to achieve a unique painterly style, very often using nothing more than her phone, although more recently she has been adding to her skills through a growing interest in applying paint to her work both digitally and freehand.

Wendy Darker

Wendy studied fine art at Northampton Art School and to degree level at Edinburgh.

She went on from there to hold various positions within fashion and art design industries for the following decades, before settling into her current practice as an independent artist, working both in commission and commercial aspects.

During the last decade Wendy’s work has been exhibited nationwide in several shows and exhibitions, having become well established, especially within rural communities, for her sympathetic depictions of both the animals and the habitat itself. She is a keen supporter of wildlife, as well as keeping the British countryside active and self-sustaining.

Stitching Ashbourne – Laura Burrill

Stitching Ashbourne is a vibrant, community-led textile artwork celebrating the built and cultural heritage of Ashbourne. Created in response to a period of change and renovation, the piece brings together hundreds of stories, memories and voices into a richly layered, large-scale triptych.

Developed through a series of accessible workshops held across the town—from schools and church halls to cafés and pubs—over 200 participants contributed to the work. Together, they have created a vivid, multi-layered portrait of Ashbourne, offering a glimpse into the lived experiences, hidden details and everyday moments that make the town unique, and celebrating personal insight, local knowledge and shared heritage.

Stitching Ashbourne is developed and curated by Laura Burrill of Every Stitch A Story, a community arts practitioner, textile artist and public historian whose work centres on collaborative, story-based making that fosters connection, belonging and pride in place.

Bernadine Rutter

Bernadine Rutter is a visual artist and works with traditional and digital Printmaking, photography and sculpture.

Bernadine is originally from the West Midlands and from early childhood was fascinated by industrial process, by the alchemy of change, by pressure, by heat, by the intervention of human invention.

Her work plays with exaggerated perspective and textured overlays. Sometimes the accidental and sometimes highly staged. Enjoying the unexpected transformation a process brings, from the ancient to the digital, the veiled, the complex, not always knowing the outcome.

The 2026 Exhibition will be open to the public from the 20th of June, and will be held in Ashbourne Town Hall.

Take a look at the photos below from last year's exhibitions and we hope to see you this year!