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.

After a very successful exhibition in 2025 held at the Rheged Centre, Penrith, our 2026 exhibition will again be held at the Rheged Centre, Penrith, CA11 0DQ.  It will open around 17th July (exact date still to be confirmed) when the exhibits will be judged, and will run until early September. We have more local Cumbrian schools involved this year, and are grateful to Rheged Centre and the Westmorland Family for their help and support.

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.