City Campus hosts inaugural art exhibition

Launched last week, ‘Landscapes of Hope’ is the first art exhibition to be displayed in the new Arts, Health and Wellbeing Gallery at City Campus.

Curated by Becca Pelly-Fry, this two-person show features works by Rachael Champion and Susie Olczak, exploring themes of climate resilience, adaptation, and community hopefulness. Drawing on local storytelling, customs and rituals, Landscapes of Hope, invites visitors to consider their relationship with the natural world.

Following a research trip to Dungeness (one of the UK’s driest locations), the exhibitionwas originally displayed in Folkstone in a ‘borderland’ territory – both a costal location and a frontier town facing Europe.

Its second iteration at City Campus in the heart of Gloucester presents an opportunity to connect with the other side of England (a wetter part of the country) and shifts focus to the relationship between natural spaces and wellbeing.

Celebrating Gloucestershire’s pioneering Arts, Health and Nature on Prescription services, the exhibition considers the health implications of natural spaces and raises important questions about how the health benefits of these spaces might change as they become more extreme.

The concept of tending to a small patch of land or garden is presented to visitors as a metaphor for caring for the environment, encouraging reflection on the small ways that everyone can contribute to climate resilience. The exhibition is a powerful visual experiment in how attentiveness to nature can become an act of solidarity and resistance.

Professor Angus Pryor, Head of the School of Arts, Culture and Environment, said: “We are honoured to host Landscapes of Hope as the first art exhibition at City Campus. This thought-provoking art show offers ways of navigating the most pertinent and challenging issues of our time.

“We encourage staff, students and the local community to visit the new Arts, Health and Wellbeing Gallery to reflect on the way we care for the world through this insightful exhibition.”

Dr Katerina Kantartzis, University of Gloucestershire’s Lead for the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome visitors to the Landscapes of Hope exhibition. Gloucestershire is leading the way in arts health and creative therapies, and this exhibition is both a reflection and celebration of that. It demonstrates how those working in academia and healthcare can come together with our communities through art, to tackle health inequalities and social disconnection.”

‘Landscapes of Hope’ is on display at City Campus until 23 November. A day of talks will be held on 21 November, from 10am-4:30pm. Tickets are free, however booking is essential.

The exhibition is the first in a programme of art shows to be displayed at City Campus, with ‘The Greatest of all Time Art Show’ set to be shown in the gallery space in the new year.

Main image: Drift Thrust Flow (2025) (foreground), Fry Harvest (2021) (background: middle) Rachael Champion. Photo credit: Leon Keys