Now Exhibiting
Geopark Artist Residency Exhibitions
For centuries, Torbay’s landscape has shaped the people, industries, and stories that define it. As part of the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, this coastline tells a tale of deep time—of shifting continents, lost worlds, and human histories intertwined with the land. But how do we translate these vast and complex narratives into something we can feel, see, and experience? The Geopark Artist Residency Programme was created to explore this question, inviting four artists to engage with Torbay’s Geopark designation through their creative practices. Over six months, these artists have worked closely with geologists, conservators, historians, and local communities, producing new bodies of work that respond to the landscapes, histories, and urgent conservation challenges of this unique region. The residency programme unfolds across two exhibitions, and two venues, each exploring a distinct but connected aspect of Torbay’s heritage. The first at Torre Abbey (18th March - 18th May), featuring James Murch and Laura Segan, responds to Torre Abbey’s place within the Geopark and its ongoing restoration. Through plein air painting, experimental photography, and textiles, these works reflect on themes of degradation, preservation, and the constant tension between nature and human intervention. Coinciding with the Geopark Festival Weekend, the second exhibition hosted at the Artizan Collective Gallery (25th May – 22nd June) brings together all four residency artists: James Murch, Laura Segan, Gill Melling, and Rachael Allain. Expanding on the themes of the first showcase, this exhibition journeys beyond Torre Abbey into marine environments, microscopic ecosystems, and human entanglements with the natural world. Each artist has approached Torbay’s landscape from a different perspective, producing work across painting, print, photography, textiles, installation, and digital media. Their residencies have been an opportunity to engage with experts, immerse themselves in local history, and respond directly to the environments around them. Each exhibition invites audiences to see the Geopark not just as a place, but as a living story—one that is still unfolding. Whether through painted landscapes, experimental processes, or digital interventions, the works on display ask us to reflect on our relationship with the land, the fragility of the ecosystems around us, and the future of Torbay’s most historic sites. The Geopark Artist Residency Programme has been made possible by the Torbay Local Heritage Grant Scheme, funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Torbay Council, and the Friends of Torre Abbey. The programme is a partnership between Artizan Collective CIC, Torre Abbey, and the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, working to explore new ways of interpreting and engaging with Torbay’s natural and cultural heritage. We invite you to explore, reflect, and engage with these works—and to see Torbay’s UNESCO Geopark through an entirely new lens.
📅 18 March - 22 June 2025
Launch
📍 English Riviera
🔴 Status Unavailable
Related
Exhibitions
Participating Artists
James Murch
James’s work is deeply inspired by the natural world, with a focus on light, colour, and space. His creative process is grounded in open-air painting across the landscapes of Torbay and Devon, capturing a strong sense of place through direct observation and thoughtful refinement. Primarily working in oil, he also explores printmaking and sculpture at his studio in Cockington Court. His sculptural pieces often feature hand-built natural forms, while his printmaking offers a more distilled response to various subjects through its direct, expressive approach. Encouraged by early sketching experiences and a strong connection to the land, James’s practice continues to evolve through experimentation and quiet reflection, often finding inspiration in understated, overlooked subjects. Based at his studio at Cockington Court, he has exhibited regularly, earning recognition from the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and reaching the semi-finals of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year.
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Two Exhibitions - One Story
Interpreting the Geopark Through Creative Practice
For centuries, Torbay’s landscape has shaped the people, industries, and stories that define it. As part of the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, this coastline tells a tale of deep time—of shifting continents, lost worlds, and human histories intertwined with the land. But how do we translate these vast and complex narratives into something we can feel, see, and experience?
The Geopark Artist Residency Programme was created to explore this question, inviting four artists to engage with Torbay’s Geopark designation through their creative practices. Over six months, these artists have worked closely with geologists, conservators, historians, and local communities, producing new bodies of work that respond to the landscapes, histories, and urgent conservation challenges of this unique region.
The residency programme unfolds across two exhibitions, and two venues, each exploring a distinct but connected aspect of Torbay’s heritage. The first at Torre Abbey (18th March - 18th May), featuring James Murch and Laura Segan, responds to Torre Abbey’s place within the Geopark and its ongoing restoration. Through plein air painting, experimental photography, and textiles, these works reflect on themes of degradation, preservation, and the constant tension between nature and human intervention.
Coinciding with the Geopark Festival Weekend, the second exhibition hosted at the Artizan Collective Gallery (25th May – 22nd June) brings together all four residency artists: James Murch, Laura Segan, Gill Melling, and Rachael Allain. Expanding on the themes of the first showcase, this exhibition journeys beyond Torre Abbey into marine environments, microscopic ecosystems, and human entanglements with the natural world.
Each artist has approached Torbay’s landscape from a different perspective, producing work across painting, print, photography, textiles, installation, and digital media. Their residencies have been an opportunity to engage with experts, immerse themselves in local history, and respond directly to the environments around them.
Each exhibition invites audiences to see the Geopark not just as a place, but as a living story—one that is still unfolding. Whether through painted landscapes, experimental processes, or digital interventions, the works on display ask us to reflect on our relationship with the land, the fragility of the ecosystems around us, and the future of Torbay’s most historic sites.
The Geopark Artist Residency Programme has been made possible by the Torbay Local Heritage Grant Scheme, funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Torbay Council, and the Friends of Torre Abbey. The programme is a partnership between Artizan Collective CIC, Torre Abbey, and the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, working to explore new ways of interpreting and engaging with Torbay’s natural and cultural heritage.
We invite you to explore, reflect, and engage with these works—and to see Torbay’s UNESCO Geopark through an entirely new lens.
Exhibiting Artists
