ROSA Botanical Art Fair comes to West Dean the May Bank Holiday weekend - Flora in Art + Design

Image: Laura Smith, They Glide 2025. Oil on linen, courtesy 155A Gallery.

Botanical Art + Design Fair, Curated Exhibitions, Sculpture Garden, Programme of Events 

 The launch of ROSA Botanical Art Fair marks an ambitious evolution in the botanical genre by placing exciting Modern and contemporary works in dialogue with traditional studies of flora.

Set in West Deans spectacular 4000 acre estate, ROSA Botanical Art Fair is set to take visitors on an artistic voyage through the botanical world this May Bank Holiday weekend. Welcoming leading artists and galleries from across the UK, the Fair focuses on todays visual interpretations of nature, and reveals rare historic and 20th-century flora-inspired works of art.

The event comprises a stunning Art + Design Fair installed on the front lawn, a series of curated exhibitions inside West Dean House, a sculpture garden  and a diverse programme of events.

Works by pioneering 20th-century artists, including Paul Nash , Prunella Clough and Tadek Beutlich, together with bold contemporary art, encompassing digital, sculpture, painting, ceramics, textiles and jewellery, reveal how artists explore a broad botanical spectrum to reimagine our relationship with the natural world. From the serene majesty of trees, to the intricate textures of moss and magical mycelial networks, ROSA Botanical Art Fair reflects a vibrant cultural shift toward nature-inspired art that serves as a powerful corrective to our screen-saturated era. Presented by ROSA (Review of Sussex Arts magazine), the Fair is directed by Jessica Wood who has over 20 years experience working on national and Sussex fairs such as British Art Fair, MADE Brighton, MADE London, Sluice Art Fair and Brighton Art Fair, as well as UK City of Culture. ROSA is a media partner with London Art Fair.

A complimentary programme of events includes: inspiring art and craft taster sessions with West Dean tutors, performances, talks and tours.

The Fair is organised in partnership with West Dean, and supported by a founding committee including Newlands House Gallery, Ottocento Fine Art Dealers, Emma Mason British Prints, Natasha OKane Sussex Contemporary Art, and The Society of Botanical Artists.

Professor Anna Gough-Yates, CEO of the Edward James Foundation and Principal of West Dean College, said: We are thrilled to partner with ROSA on the Botanical Art Fair 2026. As a leading centre for education and practice in the arts, design, conservation and horticulture, we look forward to welcoming visitors, makers and artists to our Sussex Campus to be inspired, and share in this vibrant celebration of botanical art. Art + Design Fair The stands in the Art + Design Fair are taken by a mixture of galleries, artists and designers with artworks spanning painting, photography, textiles, prints, ceramics, jewellery, sculpture and digital.

Exhibitors range from London galleries including Austin Desmond Fine Art and Chris Beetles Gallery, 155A Gallery, leading Sussex galleries including Ottocento Fine Art Dealers and Natasha OKane Sussex Contemporary Art; and vetted artists and designers from across the UK. The full list of exhibitors can be found on the website: botanicalartfair.co.uk

Chichesters Pallant House Community Programme is running a series of workshops led by artist Helen Field, culminating in a spectacular installation to be displayed at the Fair.

Exhibitions inside West Dean House:

Society of Botanical Artists The Estate Boardroom West Deans Estate Boardroom will feature an exhibition of work by 16 members of the Society of Botanical Artists. The exhibition honours the highly specialist field of botanical illustration, with scientific and representational studies of plants in a variety of mediums.

Annie Trevorah: Rhythm The Music Room A solo exhibition by Royal Society of Sculptors member Annie Trevorah. Referencing themes of bio-morphism and ecofeminism, Trevorahs contemporary works will demonstrate a visionary contrast to traditional botanical art.

Craft Banquet The Old Dining Room Curated by Dr Loucia Manopolou, Director, Newlands House Gallery The historic banquetting table becomes a focal point where works trace connections between making, nature and the rhythms of the seasons. The display celebrates the dining room as a space where beauty, function and meaning intertwine.

The installation brings together a range of craft practices, including ceramics, textiles, glass, and print. Each work draws on flowers or material intelligence rooted in the natural world, carrying the essence of growth, care and imagination. Presented in the dining room, the works blur the boundaries between use, display, and exhibition, inviting reflection on craft and its role in moments of gathering, conversation, and exchange. Dr Loucia Manopolou Flora Mythica The Old Library A group exhibition curated by ROSA Magazine. Works include a spectacular centrepiece by sculptor Abigail Norris , sculptures by John Hitchens , pieces by textile artists Tadek Beutlich (1922-2011) and Carola van Dyke , and a film and drawing installation by multi-disciplinary artist Judith Alde r.

The Sculpture Garden and Floral Art The Spring Gardens ROSA Botanical Art Fair will extend into West Deans award-winning gardens with a series of dramatic horticultural sculptures. Artists include Julian Wild, Will Spankie, Amanda Sumpter and Annie Trevorah, along with works donated by Cass Sculpture Park. The sculptures will be for sale and will be installed for an extended period until 22 May. Floral Artist, Rachel Grimes is creating site-specific pieces for the fair. Visitors will have full access to the gardens during the Fair with a ROSA Botanical Art Fair ticket.