Make & Mend Exhibition

Make & Mend exhibition celebrates a range of making, and examines how heritage settings can support contemporary practice linked to their material histories. Developed through a collaboration between Northumbria University and English Heritage, the project brings together designers, artists and makers to produce site-responsive work informed by the architecture, landscape and craft traditions of Belsay Hall.

The curatorial approach prioritises process over finished outcomes. A temporary studio occupied the Hall's historic Library, hosting workshops by many of the creators involved. The studio has been transformed into the final display, allowing the exhibition to emerge through adaptation.

The exhibition architecture is conceived through a lightweight, demountable system, informed by utilitarian timber structures found within the Hall. Constructed from standard softwood sections and assembled without permanent fixings, it operates as a reversible intervention that respects the historic fabric - while extending the project's themes of repair, reuse and material economy into the exhibition itself.

Open 27th July -- 27th September, Belsay Hall, Northumberland

Exhibition planning & curation: Anthony Forsyth, Ben Couture, Frances McIntosh
Graphic identity: Gareth Jones & Ben Couture

Lightweight timber structure in the Library, Belsay Hall

Demountable displays with industrial design objects by Anthony Forsyth (Sam Wilcox at end). Backround: lightbox prints by William Campbell & Lesley McIntyre

Site specific work (Library Bench by Richard Watson & Ben Couture / Belsay Books by Lesley McIntyre and Richard Watson)

Multiple rooms occupied throughout the Hall (image: Spatial Stitching Belsay: Anastylosis in Thread by Andrea Couture)

Central Grain, salvaged marble installations by Recraft Design Studio and Ben Couture

Natural building materials showcase, promoting sustainable construction

First Floor (Sebastian Messer foreground, L.A. Pace background)

Circular practice: Exhibition structure created using timber from former pop-up studio, destined for return to University workshop at close of event

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