Crowshow 24 kicks off to a sparkling start

Exeter’s Creative Older Women (CROWs) have kicked off Crowshow 24, their annual art exhibition, now in its third year.

Entrance is free, and you can visit the exhibition from 10am until 4pm every day until August 31.

The opening night was held at Positive Light on Sidwell Street on Friday evening, August 16, and was well attended by artists and art enthusiasts alike.

While some people came especially for the event, others simply wandered in off the street, enticed by the bustling atmosphere.

Everyone was in excellent spirits, with complimentary wine and conversation flowing.

Above: Crowshow 24. Image: Ella Woszczyk

Though not all 101 CROWs were present, there was a brilliant array of individual art projects and styles, ranging across paintings, ceramics, and textiles. 

Elizabeth Thomas’s art focuses on female lived experience during war and aims to raise awareness of the extreme vulnerability of women giving birth and living in armed conflict zones worldwide.

Above: Elizabeth's art. Image: Ella Woszczyk

Iryna Labunska, who works in oil, watercolour, pencil, and charcoal, enjoys painting nature in all its beauty, and particularly colourful flowers and landscapes.

Above: Iryna's art on the left. Image: Ella Woszczyk

Ray, who shares an art gallery with CROW founder Val, specialises in abstract painting and bases her work around organic shapes within the sea and landscape. 

Ray’s work also stems from her childhood memories of living and growing up in foster care and children’s homes. 

She uses her art as a way to confront adverse childhood experiences and the different forms of abuse she endured to begin the process of healing.

When she was young, a teacher once told her that she would never amount to anything, and Ray has been proving this teacher wrong ever since.

Above: Ray's art. Image: Ella Woszczyk

Julie, a member of the seven- to eight-person strong CROW committee, made a speech midway through the event.

Commemorating the success of CROWs in celebrating the achievements of older women artists, Julie said:

“What a fantastic achievement, celebrating all the exuberance and joy that we bring to art. We never thought it would happen. The 17 people that we started with have now become over 100.

“Everybody brings a high level of skill to the table, and we all benefit from that experience of doing something which is outside of what we would normally do as artists. 

“It's professional; it's at a high level; we’re not hobbyists; we are creative older women artists in the way that women artists have been invisible throughout the whole of history. We were feeling invisible, and now we’re not.

“We have made a presence for ourselves, and we have given ourselves the confidence to be able to do workshops and show our work to the public. And how scary is that? I can tell you, it was really scary yesterday at 12:30pm when we didn’t have anything up on the walls!

Above: Crowshow 24. Image: Ella Woszczyk

“We are a community of artists. The really nice thing is that it takes you out of that isolation that artists are so often in. When Val moved here from Totnes, she thought, ‘Well, where are the artists?’ and it’s not obvious. For some reason, there isn’t an obvious presence of artists in Exeter. But we very much feel that we’ve connected, and we’re supportive.

“Thank you to everybody, and to all the CROW members, those who are here and those who couldn’t make it. Thank you to the exhibitors for this wonderful exhibition. And thank you particularly to the Crow committee. We work together, we support each other, and we make things happen.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this unique exhibition, where you can meet the artists, learn about their projects, and browse the work of a talented group of artistic women.

Above: Crowshow 24 poster