When Val was thinking about 'Walls for a Week,' we immediately thought it would be an ideal space for WAC to exhibit, and we were certainly proved right!
Arriving mid morning on Monday for the set-up, we were welcomed by Jess, who was very helpful and supportive. She showed us around the space which included the basement where you could store work, with a kettle, coffee machine and several boxes of glasses useful for a private view. Additional storage under the front window was also very handy.
The unloading was easy, and we could park in the market square while we sorted everything out and started the hang. The window signage was up (organised by Val), and we came equipped with nails, hammers and, most importantly, a hanging plan, which really helped, especially as getting the right balance with two painters can be tricky. We'd been to the gallery before, so we were familiar with the space but had not fully appreciated the window area - not only for displaying work to draw people in but also for filling the gallery with light.
The gallery's established reputation and position in the town's main square was a real bonus, not to mention being right next door to Shepherds—very good coffee and ice cream to die for!
Val was very generous with her time and support. She advertised the exhibition through social media and her contacts in the Hay community, which helped enormously as we were not from the area. We loved the Instagram collaborations, and they were a great way of easily and effectively advertising the exhibition.
We opened on Tuesday and had a pretty steady flow of people throughout the week, with Thursday, Friday, and Saturday being our busiest days. The people coming in were definitely interested and engaged, and we received a lot of positive feedback about the work and curation. One of our most important things was having our own space to show the work how we wanted to.
Our week at The Chair was truly enjoyable. We (WAC) have exhibited together in various locations, but this experience was one of the best in terms of the gallery space, location, and public interaction. We would definitely consider showing again in the future.