Two Cumbrian artists are featuring in major Northern exhibitions this year.
Emma Evans and Stuart Irving are studio arts with the Carlisle-based Prism Arts, a disability arts organisation.
Emma’s large-scale acrylic painting Ripping Off has been selected for the ArtWorks Together 2026 International Exhibition at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield.
The exhibition, organised by ArtWorks South Yorkshire, runs until May 31 and brings together over 70 works by artists from around the world.
It celebrates the creative achievements of adult artists who have a learning disability, are autistic, or both, providing a global platform to artists with under-represented voices.
Emma’s work uses a distinctive layering process: each painting begins with an underpainting, onto which layers of paint are applied over masking tape.
The tape is then removed to reveal the sections beneath, creating bold contrasts of colour, texture and form.
Ripping Off is part of an ongoing series in which each piece evokes a different feeling, and the selection marks a significant moment in her artistic journey.
Stuart will open his first solo exhibition, Light – Shape – Distance at Brewery Arts in Kendal on Friday, February 6.
The free exhibition runs until May 2 and follows Stuart’s Judge’s Choice Award win at the Brewery Arts Open last spring.
It presents an ambitious body of abstract paintings developed with support from the Prism Arts studio.
Stuart’s paintings reimagine natural landscapes and architectural spaces as dreamlike environments, balancing naturalistic colour palettes with vivid fluorescent accents.
Drawing on influences from Turner to Kandinsky, the work is distinctly his own — modern, bold, and deeply atmospheric.
Prism Arts said: “Together, the two exhibitions reflect Prism Arts’ ongoing commitment to nurturing creative talent and removing barriers to participation in the arts.
“Both Emma and Stuart have developed their practices within the Prism Arts studio, and their success on a wider stage is a testament to what can be achieved when artists are given the right support and space to work.”
