Prudence Maltby is the curator of the gallery's launch exhibition: CONNECT people, art and place.
Prudence Maltby is an award-winning artist and curator. Born in Sussex, Prudence Maltby’s family immigrated to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) when she was a small child. She returned to the UK in the 90s having spent 35 years in Africa. Prudence divides her time between drawing, curating exhibitions and coordinating visual arts projects. She has work in many private collections and gained several awards from Zimbabwe and England. Her curatorial projects have included exhibiting work by Gary Hume, Peter Randall-Page and Susan Hiller, among many others. Prudence studied at Winchester School of Art.
The gallery’s opening exhibition explores the concept of connection, which is significant as the Salisbury community emerges from living constrained and separate lives since the events of Novichok followed by COVID-19.
"It’s about art giving shape to cultural change. In the selection process, I was mindful of beginning my search with a local focus, and from this familiar cornerstone reaching artists and makers beyond, regionally, and afar. The challenge was always going to be about putting a seemingly eclectic body of work together in one space and stimulating synergy and dialogue between the included pieces. The twenty artists represented in this exhibition are either known to me professionally or I know about the work they produce." – Prudence Maltby, September 2021