Why does contemporary art matter in Cornwall?

At first glance, Cornwall might seem an unlikely place to ask that question. We are far from London’s institutions and markets; our cultural life unfolds across fields, fishing towns, old industrial landscapes, converted chapels, studios, village halls, gardens and coastlines. And yet, perhaps precisely because of this, Cornwall has become one of the most interesting places in the UK to think about what contemporary art can be.

On 2 July we’re delighted to welcome Teresa Gleadowe to Higher Spargo School of Art for a conversation exploring the role contemporary art plays in Cornwall today — and how this place has quietly become a site of national and international significance for artists, curators and cultural institutions.

Teresa has been one of the key figures shaping this story. Founder of CAST in Helston and Director of Groundwork — the ambitious programme developed with Tate St Ives, Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange and Kestle Barton — she has spent years building spaces for encounter: between artists and audiences, contemporary practice and local histories, Cornwall and the wider world.

Groundwork was never simply about bringing “big names” to Cornwall. It asked a deeper question: what happens when contemporary art grows out of place — its histories, communities, ecologies and ways of seeing? Exhibitions unfolded across beaches, chapels, museums and unexpected sites. Artists worked with scientists, historians and local communities. Conversations mattered as much as exhibitions.

That legacy can still be felt across Cornwall today.

You see it in institutions that continue to evolve and ask difficult questions. At Tate St Ives, exhibitions increasingly position Cornwall not as a peripheral landscape but as a place from which to think about contemporary life. At Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, programmes regularly explore environment, identity and social change. CAST has become one of the county’s most thoughtful spaces for dialogue and experimentation. And beyond the gallery walls, places like Krowji, The Poly, Eden and countless artist-led initiatives continue to ask what culture can contribute to public life.

At Higher Spargo, this question feels increasingly important to us too.

What should art schools become now? What kinds of spaces encourage serious making and meaningful conversation? How do we support artists while remaining connected to place, food, landscape and everyday life?

This evening won’t offer a single answer. Instead, we hope it opens a conversation about what kind of cultural ecology Cornwall wants for the future — and the role artists, audiences and institutions might play within it.

Join us for what promises to be an inspiring and provocative evening.

2 July | Higher Spargo School of Art
More details here…..