Petit Fours
(10 September, 2025)
𧢠Wright emerges âFrom the Shadowsâ, to becoming a âhot ticket for Autumnâ
Broadcaster and The Timesâ culture writer, Nancy Durrant, included The National Galleryâs Wright of Derby: From the Shadows exhibition in the newspaperâs 20 Hot Tickets To Book round-up last month. It was one of just four listed in her Visual Arts recommendations; and she wrote: âYouâll probably recognise many of the fantastic pictures that The National Gallery is bringing together, but their maker. Joseph Wright of Derby, remains strangely short of being a household name. This exhibition featuring some of his âhyper-dramatic candlelight pictures, she goes on to say, might go some way to fixing that. It runs from 7 November to 10 May, and will then travel to go on show in Derby Museum & Art Gallery in 2026.
𧢠The UKâs six week ceramics showcase is now open
British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) launched its full programme for its ninth edition, on 6 September. It will now run through to 19 October 2025, with six weeks of free exhibitions, screenings, talks and events dispersed across the former Spode factory site in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent. The UKâs largest and most influential ceramics event returns during Stoke-on-Trentâs centenary year, bringing with it AWARD, featuring new work by 10 leading artists competing for the ÂŁ10,000 prize; a new wave of artists working in clay introduced through FRESH; BCBâs first Clay Films programme showcasing the work of 10 Global Majority artists working in film and clay; Josie KOâs The Chimney Princess for the BCB People & Place Commission, in which she explores the role of Black women in Stoke-on-Trent and creates a new goddess for the city; and even âan avenue of hugs in clayâ by Johnny Vegas, in collaboration with sculptor Emma Rodgers
𧢠This weekâs âTop Pickâ @WeightmanPR: Lara Croftâs return to the big screen
Derby is celebrating the recent announcement that Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner will play Lara Croft in the upcoming Prime Video TV series Tomb Raider. The news comes at exactly the same time that the fictional archaeologist, loved by millions in games and films, gets ready to celebrate her 30th birthday on 14 February 2026. Waller Bridgeâs collaboration with Amazon makes this an excellent time to also celebrate the fact that Lara Croft is one of Derbyâs most famous daughters. The city is planning a year of events, exhibitions and surprises to mark the 30th âbirthdayâ of Lara Croft in 2026. Visitors coming to join-in the celebrations can also see the Lara Croft mosaic and cast-iron âstarâ on the city centreâs pavements and follow a Lara Croft Trail.
𧢠Cornishware comes to Stoke-on-Trent
T.G.Green, one of the UKâs most iconic ceramics manufacturers and home of the beloved Cornishware, has plugged the gap left by Royal Stafford in the centre of Burslem. It is a significant sign - during Stoke-on-Trentâs centenary year - of an uplift for the cityâs ceramics industry, which has struggled for several years to find a more secure platform that will secure its future. T.G.Greenâs acquisition of the Royal Stafford ceramics business assets not only enhances T.G Greenâs production capacity but also reinforces their mission to keep British pottery at the forefront of global design and manufacturing. Just as importantly, the company now operates the full suite of production equipment and facilities on the Burslem site, and has welcomed back many of Royal Staffordâs highly skilled employees. And for visitors to the city, and the âMother Town of The Potteriesâ, it has also created an eye-popping outlet store in the town thatâs enjoying a surprising revival on the back of the appearance of the Lemmy statue in the Market Place.
