- Image: James Nairn, View of Corrie on Arran, courtesy of the Fleming Collection.
BEA has developed a varied programme of practical art classes and workshops with local artists and Berwick Visual Arts over recent years. Our art history programme has ranged from the study of prehistoric art and ancient civilisations to western art of the 20th Century.
Berwick’s Burrell Collection will run from 31st October until 21st February 2027, Weds – Sun 11-4pm. Free entry. Donations welcome.
Discover a remarkable collection of paintings and objects gifted to the town of Berwick by the renowned art collectors, Sir William and Lady Constance Burrell, whose generosity helped bring this extraordinary collection to the town.
From maritime scenes and wildlife to portraits and moments from everyday life, this exhibition brings together a selection of works from Berwick’s own Burrell Collection, offering a first glimpse of the stories, people and places held within it.
Co-curated by Berwick Barracks volunteers and The Maltings’, the exhibition explores the fascinating history of the collection and its special place in Berwick’s story.
BURRELL COLLECTION INSPIRED EVENTS IN NOVEMBER 2026
1. The Burrell Collection: Thursday 5 November, 10-3, Conference Rooms, YHA, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick upon Tweed. Tickets £30. This art workshop, led by local artist Rachel Sutherland, is in connection with the works from the Burrell Collection, on display in the Granary Gallery, Berwick , Dewars Lane TD151HJ, from 31st Oct -21st Feb 2027 Weds – Sun 11 -4pm. Entrance is free.
Inspired by the collector’s eye, we will scan the exhibition to see what jumps out for each of us. Everyone will be different. Some may choose an object to study and therefore will need to photograph it. It will be a loosening up exercise to engage spontaneously, intuitively and omit the time spent on second guessing. If you are a collector, and would like to bring an object from your own collection, please do so, and use that as your model for the day. We will use sketches as an exercise before taking on the finished piece which will be in a material and style of your choice: colour, black and white, collage, sketches. The brief is wide and individual interpretation is emphasised. Full details and tickets here .
2. Burrell in Berwick: the Missing Pictures: Mon 30 Nov @ 10.00 am, William Elder Building, Berwick upon Tweed. Tickets £6.
Although Sir William Burrell donated 50 paintings to Berwick, the Granary Gallery has only enough room to show half of the paintings in the collection. This talk, by Ray Clarke, will focus on the paintings not included in the exhibition.
Sir William Burrell, the wealthy Glasgow shipowner and celebrated art collector, formed one of Britain’s most remarkable private collections. Although the greater part of it was eventually given to Glasgow, Burrell also made an important gift to Berwick-upon-Tweed, close to Hutton Castle, his home in the Borders. His Berwick donation included around fifty paintings as well as several hundred pieces of decorative art and porcelain.
The paintings reflect Burrell’s wide-ranging taste. They include works by British and European artists, particularly from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Burrell was especially interested in skilful draughtsmanship, atmospheric landscapes and intimate scenes of everyday life. His collection as a whole demonstrates a strong appreciation of French art and of Scottish painters, including artists associated with the Glasgow School.
The Berwick paintings are significant not simply because of their individual quality, but because they reveal Burrell’s approach to collecting. He bought works that appealed to his own highly developed eye rather than following fashion alone. His gift was also an act of civic generosity. Burrell believed that important works of art should be publicly accessible, and his donation considerably strengthened Berwick’s museum collection. Today the paintings remain an important cultural legacy linking Berwick with one of Britain’s greatest collectors. Tickets £6.
OCTOBER ART WORKSHOPS
An Introduction to Drawing with Pen and Ink: Tuesdays 6, 13, 20, Oct 2026, 10.00-12.00pm, Conference Rooms, YHA, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick upon Tweed.
A series of three classes with local artist Rachel Sutherland, where students will learn the art of sketching in ink, to provide detail and structure, combined with atmospheric colour washes which create depth and shadow.
Week 1: We will learn to play and experiment with permanent (water resistant) and impermanent (water soluble) inks, using dipping pens and/or ready made sketching pens. Rachel will demonstrate and show relevant images from other artists. This session will also focus on mark making.
Week 2: We will create a coherent picture, or series of pictures, using permanent ink and water colour washes, newly constructed mark making techniques
Week 3: We will combine permanent and impermanent inks, with water colour washes to create a more intense image, and a less controllable one.
Materials to bring:
- Permanent ink – Rotring or india ink, chinese inks, sketching pens. A bottle of water based, impermanent ink, or a fountain pen with cartridges, or sketching pens that are not water fast. Black, sepia, and blue are the most appropriate colours to use.
- Stiff paper, minimum 220 grams in weight. Water colour paper, hot or cold pressed. Brushes and watercolour sets/tubes, palette, and water containers (2 per person). A4, 5 or 6.
- Reference material: photographs of houses and landscape, boats at sea, landscape with trees. Pictures with both detail and colour, nothing too complicated. Rachel will provide suitable images as well. Tickets £43.
Creating Textile Art 2: More Stitches: Tuesdays 3-24 Nov, 10-1.00pm, Conference Rooms, YHA, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick upon Tweed.
Creating a series of samples using additional stitches (stem stitch, fly stitch and cross stitch) and making a book to store them.
Join local artist Cath Gowthorpe for this series of four workshops.
Building on existing skills with needle and thread, each participant will create a series of original hand stitch samples, measuring up to 12.5cm x 25cm. In the fourth and final session, they will construct a book out of fabric for mounting their samples. Inspiration for the samples will come from participants’ imagination, prior work, reference books and Cath’s own samples.
This course builds upon the first course in the series (delivered in March and June 2026). Completion of the first course is not compulsory for this course, but new participants should be able to embroider confidently a range of basic hand stitches. Please note that this course does not teach very basic skills, e.g. threading a needle, pushing it in and out of fabric to make a stitch.
The course introduces three new stitches in addition to those covered in the March and June 2026 courses: stem stitch, fly stitch and cross stitch. Participants can choose which stitch or combination of stitches to use in their samples. Additional stitches will be taught if requested by participants.
Participants will not be working to a given pattern; they will use their imagination (and source materials as inspiration) to create small, original sample pieces. They can bring any materials (fabric, wools, threads) that they have to hand, but a range of materials in different colours will be provided as well. Sample books created by the lecturer will be available to examine and use as inspiration. Other possible sources of inspiration include participants’ own previous textile work (if any), photographs, memorabilia, books on art and textiles).
The lecturer will discuss the process of selecting and using a theme to link the samples. In the first class she will show participants examples of using themes, such as landscape, limited colour combinations and personal memories, to create a sample book.
By the beginning of the fourth session, all participants will have completed several samples. In the fourth session, using materials provided by the lecturer, each participant will sew together a simple padded book made of a combination of fabrics. The pages of the books will be used to mount the samples.
There are 10 places available on this course. There will be a tea break half way through each session and refreshments can be purchased from the Granary Cafe downstairs from the conference rooms where we meet. Tickets are £70.
No previous knowledge is assumed for any of our courses and all are welcome