Harbour House, together with its cafe Harbour House Kitchen, is launching a new Cafe Gallery initiative in partnership with local colleges and universities, giving emerging artists the opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional public setting.

Working with students from Kingsbridge Community College, Arts University Plymouth, the University of Plymouth, and South Devon College, the initiative aims to help bridge the gap between education and the creative industries.

Harbour House Assistant Curator, Elaine Sinclair shares: “At Harbour House, our goal is to enrich the lives of people in our community and to engage meaningfully with as many residents as possible across our town and surrounding areas.

“At a time when opportunities for young people and students to explore creativity are increasingly limited, we believe it is vital to provide platforms where new voices and ideas can be seen.”

By opening the walls of Harbour House Kitchen to student artists, the project connects the cafe with the wider community while giving young creatives valuable exposure and hands-on experience of the exhibition and curation process.

The first presentation in the Cafe Gallery continues the relationship with Kingsbridge Community College, following the Sixth Sense exhibition that was shown in the Harbour House Gallery earlier this spring.

The launch will coincide with the opening celebration of Tom Kaniok’s exhibition Mud Makes the Revivalists in the Harbour House Gallery on Thursday 2 April, 6pm–8pm. On this evening, the café will open to the public after hours, giving visitors the chance to view work by KCC photography students displayed on the café walls. Free light refreshments will be available in both the café and the gallery.

Mud Makes the Revivalists explores our relationship with nature through themes of ecology, climate change, memory, and belonging.

Through the Cafe Gallery initiative, Harbour House will continue to work with local college and university students, supporting them throughout the process of developing, presenting, and sharing their work with the public.

The Cafe Gallery will be open to the public during the Cafe opening hours, Tues-Sat 10am - 4pm.