West Norfolk Artists Association

WNAA Exhibitions

The Association is not primarily an exhibiting group, but as part of promoting the work of its members usually has three exhibitions per year. Members are encouraged to enter work for these exhibitions and although all the shows are selected by curators we try where possible to include at least one work from all entrants.

Annual Summer Exhibition

The WNAA Summer Exhibition is a major event on the Association's calendar, usually coinciding with the King's Lynn Festival, and for many years the venue has been the historic St Nicholas Chapel, King's Lynn, which provides a large and attractive space in which to showcase members' work. The venue is made available by the Churches Conservation Trust. Members are permitted to enter a maximum of four works, and the exhibition is curated by a team of two or three selectors, usually drawn from the WNAA membership. The curating team changes annually.

There are a number of awards presented at the Summer Exhibition. The Syd Davison award for the best work in the show is chosen by an invited guest selector. Syd was the first chairman of the WNAA, who sadly died in 2004. The award, an engraved glass trophy for the winner to keep in perpetuity, was set up in Syd's memory by his wife Joyce.

Another major award is the Inga Miller trophy for an outstanding piece of work, to be selected jointly by the WNAA committee. Inga was one of the founding members of the Association and a great supporter of the arts. She passed away in 2012.

Visitors to the show are invited to vote for their favourite work, which leads to the Visitors' Choice award, presented to the artist who secures the maximum number of votes.

Other exhibitions

In its early years the WNAA only held one exhibition per year. However, more exhibitions have been added in recent years and we currently have a Spring exhibition, which is held at Thornham Village Hall. In the autumn we often have a third exhibition, and this year it will be held in the Fermoy Gallery, King's Lynn.

How to take part in a WNAA exhibition

Association exhibitions are only open to members, so you first need to ensure that your membership of the WNAA is current. There are a number of rules for each exhibition, relating to size and type of work and how recently it has been created. The venues used normally require invigilating throughout the run of the show, so members entering work must be prepared to undertake two or more invigilating sessions of usually 3 hours each.

Entry details for all WNAA exhibitions are sent to all members well in advance of each show. However, you can also download entry details for forthcoming exhibitions from the link below, when available.