We are fascinated by the plant as a being of dual nature: beautiful yet dangerous, healing yet poisonous. This contradiction is the starting point of our joint exhibition, Poison Garden: Healing or Deadly. For us, plants are more than shapes, colours, or natural motifs. They become symbols of the delicate balance between life and death, healing and harm. What can heal can also become poison; the difference often lies in knowledge, dosage, and human choice. This duality is particularly visible in the Devon landscape. Foxglove, yew, and nightshade are familiar plants, yet carry hidden stories of medicine, poisoning, ritual, science, and our desire to understand and control nature. It is difficult to explore the darker side of local botany without thinking of Devon’s most famous resident, Agatha Christie. Her work in a hospital and pharmacy during the First World War gave her an understanding of drugs, dosages, and toxins that later influenced her crime novels. For Christie, poison became both a means of death and a form of hidden knowledge. Through paintings, ceramics, and printmaking, we explore plants as delicate forms, tactile objects, traces, and imprints. Rather than offering clear answers, we invite viewers into a garden where the familiar becomes mysterious, and beauty can evoke both wonder and anxiety. The Poison Garden is a space between opposites: where beauty is not always safe, and poison is not always simply poison. Exhibition will launch 11th September Exhibition dates: 12th September – 11th October Wednesday – Sunday 11 am – 4 pm

Welcome to Outside In an exhibition celebrating the extraordinary creativity of The Great Torre Abbey Paint Out. This exhibition documents a shared public response to our town’s landscapes and heritage, drawing together community pieces from the Mass Paint Out, professional works from the Artist Trail, and the outstanding submissions from Torbay’s first Plein Air Art Competition. Across the 5th & 6th of September, the Paint Out celebrated the culmination of the National Gallery’s Art on Your Doorstep. On Saturday, the Artist Trail invited visitors to watch ten professional practitioners capture familiar surroundings in real time from Torre Abbey to Torquay Pavilion. By Sunday, the creative energy shifted to Torre Abbey, transforming the historic grounds into a vibrant studio where participants of all ages and abilities painted together in a joyous Mass Paint Out. The weekend also challenged creatives to capture the environment against the clock. We are incredibly proud to showcase the talent of all who took part, and extend congratulations to our prize winners: Overall Winner, Gabrielle Peckham; Silver Winner, Susan Rooney; Bronze Winner, Mark Bell; and Youth Winner, Frankie Gaughan. Thank you to everyone who made the event possible: Torbay Council, the National Gallery, the Friends of Torre Abbey, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England. And to our sponsors: Great Western Railway, Twigger Business Solutions and Otto Bar & Restaurant. The Great Torre Abbey Paint Out was proudly produced by Artizan Collective, Torre Abbey and Torquay Pavilion Creative Engagement Group. Torre Abbey Opening Times: Wednesday - Sunday 10 am - 5 pm