
2025 Diamond Year – January Newsletter
Posted on Jan 14, 2025


What a good year we’ve had, and what an exciting year we have to come, celebrating our 75-year anniversary.
2024 saw us collaborating with Walsall Poets to celebrate our exhibited works at St Paul’s The Crossings Gallery and The New Art Gallery Walsall.
We had; painting days out to coincide with our exhibition at Himley Hall: day trips out to Oxford, and Melbourne Art’s Festival: hands on demonstrations (one very clean drawing evening and one delightfully messy clay experience): members taking part in Walsall’s first Art Festival
The year concluded with our 74th exhibition, opened by the Deputy Mayor, at The New Art Gallery Walsall where several members received awards, for their works and three members were elected Fellows of Walsall Society of Artists.
Thank you to the businesses and individuals who donated the awards. A big thank you to the staff at The New Art Gallery Walsall for curating the exhibition, our lovely porters and very patient photographer and lastly, to all members, friends, family who attended the Pre-View night, making it a resounding success.
The exhibition runs until Sunday 2nd February so if you haven’t been please do so and take others with you. Don’t forget to vote for the work of your choice and please leave a comment in the book.
As it’s our DIAMOND year most of the exhibitions have Diamond in their title. (a good way to remind people how long the society has been in existence).
We have just hung our ‘Winter Diamonds’ exhibition at The Crossing in Walsall. That will show until the end of February.
Next will be ‘Spring Diamonds’ at Himley Hall, 4th April to 23rd June. We are hoping to arrange painting days and demos for this.
‘Drawn Diamonds’ at The Crossing, 25th April to 29th May. A WSA Group exhibition of Drawings so get your pencils, charcoal, inks out and get drawing.
Followed by, ‘Black Diamonds’ at the Museum of Cannock Chase, June to mid-August. There’s a possibility that workshops could be arranged there too.
In July, ‘Rough Diamonds’, we will ‘Celebrate 75 Years Walsall to Weston’ at Weston Park. We are hoping to arrange painting days and demos for this.
Then, from the 29th August to 31st October we shall be back at The Crossing with ‘Leather Diamond Autumn Arts Festival’. This will be Like a mini Arts Festival with Music, Poets and Walsall’s Makers Fest.
Finally, we’re at the 75th Annual Exhibition again, December 2025 to February 2026. This coincides with The New Art Gallery Walsall being opened 25 years ago. This will be our ‘Diamonds are Forever LXXV’ Exhibition.
Phew! A very full year of celebrating Walsall Society of Artists.
All exhibition dates are on the website on the EXHIBITIONS page, go to walsallsocietyofartists.co.uk/exhibitions All information about submitting works and hanging requirements will be on there.

Winter Diamonds
St PAULS GALLERY, THE CROSSING
3rd January – 27th February 2025
Private View 1st February 11am – 1pm

Spring Diamonds
HIMLEY HALL
4th April – 23rd June
Open Call from 6th February
Closes on 9th March

Drawn Diamonds
St PAULS GALLERY, THE CROSSING
25th April – 29th May 2025
Open Call from 6th March
Close on 13th April

Black Diamonds
CANNOCK CHASE MUSEUM
21st June – 17th August 2025
Open Call from 8th May
Closes on 8th June

Rough Diamonds from Walsall to Weston
WESTON PARK
1st – 28th July 2025
Invited Exhibitors from Annual Exhibition

Leather Diamonds Autumn Arts Festival
St PAULS GALLERY, THE CROSSING
29th August – 30th October
Open Call from 10th July
Close on 17th August
Remember, you have to be a fully paid-up member to exhibit with the society.

Diamonds are Forever LXXV Annual Exhibition
THE NEW ART GALLERY WALSALL
December 2025 – February 2026
Submissions will Open October 2025
Final Dates TBC
As I’ve already mentioned, we hung ‘Winter Diamonds’ at The Crossing last week. Thank you to all the members who brought their works in for hanging. An even bigger thank you to the members who volunteered to stay to help. Now you’ve seen what we do please come and get stuck in again.
Steve and Elizabeth Hanging Works

Helping Hands
Just having another pair of hands to steady a painting as it’s hung and that extra pair of eyes to check if it’s straight is so helpful. Talking about ‘getting stuck in’, our AGM is next month and we shall be very open to members joining the committee. We have plans in the pipeline and a few more people to help bring them into existence would be a great help. You don’t have to be a member of long standing just one who’s willing to give a little bit of their time in helping to organise new and exciting events for the society.
Become A Committee Member
Be a committee member or a member of a team that works with the committee, a great way to gain confidence in exhibitions and event planning. As more of our communication with you, other associations and venues is on line, we need willing members who can use a computer to do emails, admin, accounts, help organise, even be willing to take on new skills like learning to update the website. Interested? These skills can help you within your own art business. Contact us via info@walsallsocietyofartists.co.uk
The more help we can get, the more we can offer, the better we can be.
We intend getting the AGM over as soon as possible so we can move on to the more enjoyable part of the evening, the ‘Show and Tell’. Bring a piece of work in to share with everyone. Let us know how you created it, what was the inspiration for it, did you have any problems working on it, do you still have a problem with it, if so, can we help with a bit of a critique? Well, that’s talk of the AGM night out of the way
The full programme for the year will be printed into your new membership card. Membership cards will be given/posted to you when you pay your fee for this year’s subscription. The majority of you should be receiving automatic reminders to renew membership via email, otherwise, pay at the monthly meeting. Scan the QR code at the top of this letter, it will take you through to the website where you can find details on how to pay.
Please read this message from our present vice-chair, Steve.
I thought I would just send out a quick note to clarify the making of card payments, on the Walsall Society of Artists website.
We use an automated system which is connected to our card machine, named ‘Square’. When you are making your payment, it may ask you to use a ‘credit card’. HOWEVER, you CAN use a normal debit card / bank card, to make your payment. There is absolutely no need to start applying for a new credit card, if you don’t already have one or do not want one. The use of the term ‘credit card’ is ingrained into the automated system and, so far as I am aware, we are unable to change the wording – but we certainly do not want anybody entering into any form of debt, on our account.
New Programme of Demonstrations for 2025
These have been on the website since October 2024 follow the link
For those that missed the Demonstration on 9th January meeting, we very much enjoyed –

Pascale Bigot – Mixed Media & Pastel/Ink
French born Pascale moved to England in 1994 and has developed her own unique techniques and ideas in the use of pastels in a vibrant, exciting and colourful way – combining them with mixed media in a way you will not have seen before.
She was truly inspirational with lots of tips to help all artists whatever your style of work.
Art Demonstrations and Meetings are held at:
St Martins Church Hall, 1 Sutton Rd, Daffodil Rd, Walsall WS5 3DQ
On the second Thursday of every month
Doors open at 7pm with a prompt start of 7.30pm – 9.30pm
The Monthly Meetings are open to the public for an admission fee of £3.50
Art Meets Poetry Live
We have two events at the New Art Gallery when the Walsall Poets Collective join us for recitals and artist’s talks about the works exhibited in our 74th exhibition. These events are on Sunday 19th Jan., and Sunday 26th Jan. in the Community Gallery, 12pm to 4pm
Here’s some further information from Wendy, our event co-ordinator.
Poetry Workshops
On both days there are two poetry workshops in the New Art Gallery, organised by the Walsall Poets Collective. These take place in the Community Gallery prior to the ‘Art Meets Poetry Live’ events. These workshops are free to attend and don’t have to be booked in advance.
Artists, the workshops, may stimulate ideas for future artwork and how art can be inspired by sounds and poetry. They may also help you develop ways of writing about your artwork.
Dates and times of poetry workshops:
Sunday 19th January
- Poetry and Ambient Soundscapes 12.15 – 1.00pm with Apple Venus
- The Arts as Inspiration for Poetry 1.15 – 2.00pm with Cath Edwards
- Poetry Recitals & Artist Talks 2.15 – 3.45pm with Walsall Poets Collective & WSA
Sunday 26th January
- The Arts as Inspiration for Poetry 12.15 – 1.00pm with Cath Edwards
- Poetry and Ambient Soundscapes 1.15 – 2.00pm with Apple Venus
- Poetry Recitals & Artist Talks 2.15 – 3.45pm with Walsall Poets Collective & WSA
Art Meets Poetry 2025 book
As you may be aware, as part of our 75th Anniversary celebrations, we are very excited to have this project supported by Creative Black Country as part of Arts Council England’s, Creative People and Places National Portfolio programme. Which will enable us to compile a book of all the poems and the artworks that inspired them, entitled “Art Meets Poetry 2025”.

A book has been allocated for every artist and poet included in the event, for which we would welcome donations. An additional book is available for £5.00 each. (If you would like to purchase more than one book, please leave your details. We will contact you if any books remain at the end of both events.) If you are unable to attend the event, a book will be kept for you.
On arrival we would like you to sign for your copy of the book and make any donations/payments by cash or card. The book will be available for you to take home at the end of the afternoon.
Artists, we will also have a special “Art Meets Poetry 2025” book for the Walsall Society of Artists to keep as part of their archives. We would like each artist to sign this book on the Contents page, next to their name, as a record of their participation and creativity.
There will be feedback forms available from Creative Black Country, asking your thoughts about the event. We would appreciate if you could complete these and hand them to us, prior to leaving.
Family and friends
On arrival, please ask your family and friends to sign in too, so that we have a complete record of attendance. It promises to be a very exciting and jam-packed event! We have so much planned that it would be greatly appreciated if you could arrive promptly at 2.00pm.
Winter Diamond Exhibition
Meet the Artists Sat 1st February 11am – 1pm.

For more information check out the website. Have a good year. Make it a creative one.
Newsletter Written By Pam Renhard
Quote of the moment –
‘Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one’ – Stella Adler