Hello again! I hope you have had a good start to 2024; for one reason and another it’s been an unusually busy one here at HooperHart Headquarters. The first 3 months of the year were mostly devoted to a project which I received VACMA funding for last year…I’m going to delve into that in a separate post but for now I quickly want to share some exciting news with you.
Firstly, the brand new Perth Museum opened its doors on Easter weekend after a long-awaited refurbishment and repurposing of the former City Hall. The museum’s main attraction will undoubtedly be the Stone of Destiny, returning home to Perthshire for the first time in 700 years. Another good reason to visit though is the museum shop, where you can purchase a selection of my work! As you can imagine I was very chuffed to be asked (who doesn’t love a museum shop?) and also encouraged that they were approaching local makers to be a part of it, celebrating Perth’s new UNESCO status as a Creative City of Craft.
Now to my second piece of news – I have moved in to an actual proper studio! It’s in Perth Creative Exchange which is a fantastic former school building near North Inch Park. It’s lovely and bright, light and warm – no more struggling to see or jostling for space in my cold and dark spare room.
I’m sharing with the very talented Alison Price in a really wonderful community of creative people. After spending most of my time working on my own for the past 8 years, this comes as a really welcome change…it can be very isolating being a one-woman band. After only a week at the studio it feels like home already.
In addition to all this I started a new part-time job and joined the committee of Perthshire Open Studios. This year we have a comprehensive programme of events, including a month-long summer exhibition at the very grand Perth Civic Hall, a showcase exhibition at the beautiful Barn Gallery at Blackruthven, and of course Open Studios itself at the end of August. Keep an eye on my ‘shop’ page where you will find details as they become available.
Well, I think that’s enough excitement for one post! I’ll be back with an in-depth one on my project soon.
Thanks for reading x
HooperHart 