A fashion exhibition focused on the writers and artists of the Bloomsbury group is the first event at a newly transformed arts centre.
The former council office building in Southover Road, Lewes, has been transformed over 12 weeks and opened to the public on Wednesday, September 13.
Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion is the first exhibition and features catwalk fashion by the likes of Dior, Fendi and Burberry and never-before-seen Bloomsbury portraits and personal items including Virginia Woolf’s handbag.
The exhibition costs £12.50 for adults and is free for under 18s.
Charleston, which also provides a year-round programme of events and festivals in Firle, has collaborated with Lewes District Council on the new space for exhibitions.
The new space also has a studio for community projects and workshops, as well as a pop-up café and shop for visitors.
A spokeswoman for Charleston said: “The new space in Lewes also includes Charleston’s first learning studio which will host a free programme of co-produced community projects, artist-led workshops and gallery activities, welcoming families, young people and other community groups.
“The first visitors through the door were a group of students from East Sussex College Group, and there will be a continuing learning programme for local state schools, further education and higher education groups.”
Another exhibition by contemporary artist Jonathan Baldock called Through The Joy Of The Senses is a free event which “explores our relationship with the body and the space it inhabits”.
The exhibitions started from September 13 run until March next year.
Charleston also has a manor in Firle, which was home to the Bloomsbury Group, where people can see the exhibition in a “totally different light through the darker months”.
There is a Sussex art shuttle bus which connects Charleston’s house, garden and galleries in Firle with the new space in Lewes, Towner Gallery in Eastbourne and Seven Sisters Country Park over the next few months.
For more information on Charleston’s programme of events, visit its website https://www.charleston.org.uk/
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