New Light Art, the charity dedicated to raising the profile of contemporary art in the North of England is announcing its closure following an unsuccessful application for funding to Arts Council England.
The charity was founded in 2010 by Annette Petchey to showcase the enormous talent in the North of England at a time when the artworld was predominantly London-centric. Its work includes the hugely popular New Light Art Prize where artists with a Northern connection were invited to submit a piece of art for their touring exhibition, giving Northern artists the opportunity to display their work in high profile galleries across the UK. It also had a very successful education programme called Art for All, and the New Light Collection which included pieces by the late Norman Ackroyd RA, Anne Desmet RA, Mark Demsteader, Jo Taylor and Tom Wood, bringing joy, solace and inspiring conversation to the walls of hospitals and charities.
New Light grew from a single exhibition at The Mercer Gallery in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, to a five venue, 15-month tour, visiting four counties the Bankside Gallery in London – reaching audiences in excess of 67,000.
In 2025, New Light piloted its ‘Summer Exhibition of the North’ to great acclaim at Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, generously sponsored by McInroy & Wood, long term sponsor of the New Light Charity. For this exhibition, New Light took art outside of the gallery for the first time in the spacious textile mill, enabling sculpture and textiles to be shown alongside the wall hung art in a true celebration of Northern talent.
The Art for All programme has delivered artist led talks, workshops, demonstrations and immersive art courses for schools, charities and the public across the region.
Rebekah Tadd, CEO of New Light says: “We are sad to announce the closure of New Light, but are extremely proud of what we have achieved since New Light’s inception in 2010. New Light is a small charity, but we have done some amazing things, working in partnership with wonderful organisations, curators and judges to create inspiring exhibitions in magnificent galleries that truly shine a light on our Northern talent. This was made possible with the generous support of our erstwhile patron, Valeria Sykes, and several corporate sponsors.
“Each exhibition has been unique; the high quality of the artwork has astounded visitors, attracted new audiences, curators and collectors.
“As a result of the New Light Prize, we have seen emerging Northern artists flourish into household names and established artists sell their work to brand new audiences. It has been a huge honour to be a part of our artists’ journey and I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to New Light over the years – artists, judges, curators, sponsors, Valeria Sykes and especially the New Light team, who have enabled the charity to deliver our ambitious programme. We are immensely proud to have been able to help put Northern art firmly on the map.”
Venues that exhibited New Light’s exhibitions included The Bowes Museum in County Durham, The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, Rheged in Penrith, The Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery in Carlisle, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Scarborough Art Gallery, Saul Hay Gallery in Manchester, London locations, Panter & Hall, The Mall Galleries and Bankside Gallery, The Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead, Zillah Bell Gallery in Thirsk, Swinton Park in Ripon and latterly Sunny Bank Mills in Leeds.
