Thursley Art Exhibitions 1977 - 1984

In 1974, Margie Crawfurd and Georgina Harvey held an art exhibition at Thursley Village Hall as charity benefit. It was so popular that they continued to hold it annually for up to two weeks at a time until 1984. The exhibition consisted of work by artists and craftsmen from all over England, the large majority of whom were professionals. Over the years they managed to attract many leading figures in the arts and crafts, and as a consequence visitors to the exhibition came from far afield.

We asked Georgina Harvey for her recollections and in February 2025 she wrote:

The Thursley Exhibition began in 1975 as a fund raiser for the Thursley Conservative Association. The idea was to get anyone in the village who had ever made, knitted, spun, sewn, weaved, carved, forged, thrown, blown, drawn, painted or whatever to show off their goods and skills. The designated team consisted of artist Ros Kentish, Margie Crawfurd, Marion O’Brien & myself with Robert Tann being in charge of all things financial. The Village Hall would be rented for 10 days at the end of September and a raffle and wine bar would cover expenses. All committee members donated prizes and also helped man the hall during opening times. The exhibition was open to anyone willing to pay the 10p entrance fee on Thursday & Friday evening and all day on the Saturday. Sunday was the day to collect belongings or purchases and clean up the Hall.

The exhibition seemed to grow exponentially and by the fourth year the political association was becoming a problem for some of the Artist and Craftsmen who were no longer locals. For the next six years we had a keen viewing & spending public and exhibitors, some of which were more used to showing in London Galleries, still eager to show their work in our rural countryside. The numbers and values increased and The Thursley Village Hall became a veritable hub of excellence in the regional autumn arts calendar. Our Competition Judges were distinguished members of the Arts Scene and gave us credentials beyond our expectations.

It was time for a change.

For ten years The Thursley Exhibition had been able to have exclusive use of the Village Hall (which by 1984 had increased from 5 to 45 days). A Nursery School wanted a home and 41 years later there is still one there.

Artists showing their art over the years included:

Nicholas Dimbleby - sculptor

Mary Fedden - painter

Paul Gunn - painter

Ken Howard - oils

John Makepiece - furniture

Susan May - Jeweller

Lorne McKean - bronze sculptures

Bernard Myers - printmaker

Charles Normandale - iron gate

William Pye - a sculptor known particularly for his water sculptures

Guy Taplin - driftwood birds

Carel Weight - oils

Mary Wondrausch - pottery

Along with:

Thursley's very own residents Salli Tomlinson (artist) and Peter Hanauer (handblown glass)

An example of Salli's work: a musical artwork that opens up and reveals boxes within which also open and play music: painted on boards and approximately 1M x 1M