The Art Of Paper Opens At Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall and QEST are delighted to announce The Art of Paper, a new exhibition celebrating the beauty, versatility and enduring significance of paper as an artistic medium.

Running from 7 July to 20 September, the exhibition will bring together the work of seven of the UK’s most talented makers in this medium, exploring both traditional techniques and contemporary practice. Through sculpture, intricate printmaking, paper used as textile fibres and larger sculptural installations, visitors to The Art of Paper will discover the remarkable possibilities of a material that has shaped human creativity for centuries.

Works will be exhibited throughout Haddon Hall, continuing the ongoing dialogue between craft and one of Britain’s most remarkable historic houses. The exhibition forms part of Haddon’s ongoing commitment to supporting heritage craft skills and championing the makers who are preserving and evolving traditional techniques through its partnership with QEST. All makers involved in The Art of Paper have at some point received funding from QEST to support their training and education.

Reinforcing the exhibition’s focus on materials and making, The Art of Paper also features handcrafted papers from the highly regarded Paper Foundation, a Lake District-based organisation dedicated to celebrating paper as a creative and sustainable medium.

With 900 years of history, Haddon Hall has an indelible connection with paper – the house’s fascinating archive is full of manuscripts and historic documents creating a natural link between past and present. Alongside contemporary artworks, visitors to The Art of Paper will also encounter historic paper items from Haddon Hall’s collections and archives.

Entry to The Art of Paper exhibition is included with general admission to Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1LA. 7 July – 20 September 2026.

The seven QEST Alumni exhibiting in The Art of Paper are:

Clare Phelan 

A Yorkshire-based printmaker whose work explores post-industrial landscapes and the narratives hidden within obsolete technologies, including textile jacquards, telegrams and punch cards.

Kendall Clarke

An artist and maker working with textiles, paper and natural dyes, whose layered works draw inspiration from ancient texts, language and the fragmented nature of historical records.

Kirsty MacDonald

An emerging maker specialising in plant-based materials, exploring papermaking, pigments, inks and dyes through the lens of Scottish folklore and traditional knowledge. 

^{Photo © Nicole Paterson}

Louisa Boyd

A Cheshire-based printmaker whose innovative work combines traditional processes such as hand marbling and etching with contemporary approaches to paper sculpture and abstraction.

Su Blackwell

Su is internationally acclaimed for her intricate paper sculptures and installations, with clients including Grey Goose, Waitrose and FT Weekend.

^{Photo © Rebecca Brooker} 

Marilou Chagnaud

A Canadian-born, York-based artist whose sculptural paper works explore themes of landscape, movement, fragility and transformation.

^{Photo © Rob Little}

Pia Östlund

A Swedish printmaker and designer reviving the lost nineteenth-century process of nature printing to create exquisitely detailed botanical artworks.