St. Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings 2000
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The East Sussex Branch used to hold an exhibition annually, the last one was three years ago - now I know why! I think we are still reeling from the exhibition at St Mary-in-the-Castle; prepare for it, put it up, man it, take it down, write about it!!! No doubt Cheshire, Cambridge, Hertfordshire, Suffolk et al are all nodding 'been there, done that, - has anyone seen the t shirt?' Well, before I launch into a blow by blow account, I must say a huge thanks to all who helped prepare glossy catalogues, colourful posters, hang paintings, organise display cabinets, man the show etc.
I could mention a whole list of names but I am bound to forget someone so suffice it to say an extra BIG THANKS to Mary Clayton for keeping tabs on all the admin. and fine details so essential to the entire project. Well we certainly needed the three days that the gallery had made available for us to put up and display all our work. We had over 100 paintings, 70 scarves, numerous cushions, earrings, wall-hangings, ties and some screens. All these had to be securely displayed, named, labelled, spot-lighted and fine-tuned. A stalwart group of us became dab hands with claw hammers, spirit levels, screwdrivers, masonry nails and step ladders. The exhibition opened with a busy private view that everyone really enjoyed. The venue was super, overlooking the sea, big arched windows, potted palms and cafe tables, the place buzzed. People wandered around the cafe area which was filled with large paintings, drifted along the walkway adorned with scarves and then on into the crypt galleries. The rough stone walls in the crypt provided a lovely background for the dazzling array of smaller painting and hangings. it looked spectacular though we say so ourselves.
	Twenty three of our members had work on display. We had literature about the Guild and about our local Branch. We had organised two people to be on duty at various times of the day and evening when there were performances in the theatre. This really helped pull people together, gave us all the chance to really look at each other's work. We had plenty of interest in the show.
One unlikely lad working in the kitchen said that it was the most colourful exhibition they had had in the centre and he felt quite 'uplifted by it all'. Obviously the management was just as impressed as they asked us if wecould extend the show by another week free of charge. It was quite a coup and gave us a high profile when the Heritage lottery big-wigs held a conference in the theatre. The comments book was filled with rapturous praise and the feedback was good. 'We must do another exhibition soon' said one euphoric member. 'Mmm, in ten years time' said another exhausted colleague. The staff and management gave us hugs as we left, quite a send off! So... onwards and upwards. Fiona Lewis-Donaldson - East Sussex Branch