Viewing Room

Fair Ground 2026

21 October – 13 December

Fair Ground is Glyndebourne’s annual exhibition of new work by artists in Sussex. Now in its seventh year, the exhibition is titled after a lyrical line in Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Sussex, in which he describes the county as ‘beloved over all’. A hymn to the beauty of place, Fair Ground is an invitation to encounter possibility: ideas, perspectives and creative practices that might resonate, intrigue or surprise.

The artists in Fair Ground are selected not for shared subjects, techniques or themes, but for the energy and potential that emerges when their distinctive practices are placed in conversation. A shared preoccupation with the landscape may reveal different ways of seeing; the exuberance of one work may sharpen the stillness of its neighbour. It’s within these surprising connections and dissonances that this exhibition finds its rhythm. Bringing together artists at different stages of their careers, each one enters into dialogue with the generations of Sussex artists who came before them, forming a kind of visual poetry that traverses land, time and experience.

This year, we present work by twenty artists: Katherine Allen, Julie Annis, Orlanda Broom, Amy Dury, Victoria Homewood, Bruce Ingram, Nils Jean, Gabriel Langlands, Rob Lyon, Roman McCullough, Fraser McQuade, Jane Merfield, Neil Morley, Jonathan Murphy, Marigold Plunkett, Rory Prout, Agnes Treherne, Rebecca Wells, Lucianna Whittle and Robin Barley-Williams.

Alongside the array of contemporary work are a selection of drawings, designs and ceramic pieces by Ann Wynn Reeves (1929-2017). An artist and designer, Wynn Reeves lived and worked in Sussex for more than forty years, founding a ceramics business in Lewes with her husband, the pioneering ceramicist Kenneth Clark MBE. Together, they created decorative schemes for schools, churches, hotels, hospitals and other public buildings across the UK, as well as vessels, tiles and functional wares for collectors internationally. Their most local commission to Glyndebourne was a colourful mosaic panel still on view at St Mary the Virgin, Ringmer. A gifted draughtsperson, Wynn Reeves’ contribution to the visual histories of Sussex – and art histories more broadly – has long been overlooked. Fair Ground offers an opportunity to bring her work back into focus, introducing a wider audience to her captivating designs.

For sales, enquiries and appointments, please contact art@glyndebourne.com. The exhibition can be visited by non-ticket holders.