Sea Ice Svalbard by Emma Stibbon RA
Our Director Harriet Cooper introduces our 2025 programme and a new approach to our opening hours.
I am really looking forward to 2025 – my first year as Director of The Burton at Bideford. I’ve spent the last few months planning with our brilliant team, and we’re excited to share some of what is coming up this year.
We launch the year with a season celebrating the vibrancy of printmaking today in the exhibition Other Worlds, which presents new work by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Whether you are new to printmaking or a confident printer, shake off the winter blues by getting involved in our busy programme of print demonstrations, workshops, talks and family activities starting from 11 January. See our Exhibitions, Events and Workshops page for details.
In March we are excited to focus on home-grown artistic talent with our much-loved Annual Schools Exhibition, showcasing the imagination and creativity of young people from the local area. Alongside this, we’ll premier an important exhibition of work by Bideford-born Leslie Worth (1923-2009), a master of watercolour who brought the transient beauty of landscapes to life.
One of my personal highlights of our 2025 programme is a major exhibition by internationally renowned Bristol-based artist Emma Stibbon in May. Organised in collaboration with Towner Eastbourne, Melting Ice | Rising Tides will bring vital conversations about the global impact of climate change to our doorstep, including new works that respond directly to coastal erosion in our own familiar North Devon landscape.
Throughout the year we will be continuing to explore our Collections and context through a contemporary lens in our annual artist commissions. Our 2024 Ceramic Artist in Residence, Florence Dwyer, will exhibit new work made in response to the RJ Lloyd Collection from later this month, and our 2024 Environmental Commission with Andy Hughes is on display until the spring. We’ll be launching open calls for both commissions early in 2025.
Following the successful installation of solar panels on the roof at the end of 2024, we are continuing our Arts Council England funded work to make our building more accessible and environmentally sustainable. January and February will see a little disruption to visitors as we work with local businesses to upgrade our toilet facilities and windows – thank you for bearing with us while these changes take place! In spring we will be turning our attention to the outside of the building, with a planting project and artist commission opportunities to be announced.
Finally, 2025 sees The Burton trialling a new approach to our opening hours. From 6 January we will be closed on Mondays, but will open for one hour longer on Tuesday to Saturday. Our new opening hours are:
- Monday: closed (Café du Parc remains open as normal)
- Tuesday to Saturday: 10am–5pm
- Sunday: 11am–4pm
This change will allow us to align better with busy visitor times as well as giving us an opportunity to explore new programmes for families and for groups who need a quieter setting for their visit. Our Monday closure will enable essential Collections care, building maintenance and staff training to take place, ensuring we can continue to provide you with the best experience on your visit to us.
We can’t wait to welcome you to The Burton in 2025 for a year full of art, imagination and creativity – thank you for continuing to support what you love!
