Every year the society organises an exhibition to display the work of young artists in Cumbria. The students are usually in their final two years of school and studying Art at A Level. They present work on a wide range of themes, some of which are designated by the particular examination board while others may be ideas of their own choice.

The most recent exhibition 2025 was held at the Rheged Centre, Penrith, CA11 0DQ.  It opened on 10th July 2025 when Sarah Dunning, Chair of the Westmorland Family business, judged the exhibits; the exhibition ran until early September.  We look forward to another exhibition at Rheged for 2026.

The schools taking part last year were Appleby Grammar School, Austin Friars School, James Rennie School, Keswick School and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.

1st Prize, awarded to Willow Wood, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith, for “Self Portrait”

2nd Prize, awarded to Fern Roberts, Austin Friars School Carlisle, for “Fruit Salad”

3rd Prize, awarded to Laura Reed, Appleby Grammar School, for “Decay”

We do encourage you to visit the exhibition and so support our artists of the future. 

And thanks to The Arts Society Cumbria Committee Members Fiona Campbell and Stuart McEllhinney for all their efforts in bringing it to fruition.