Grant to The Stradling Collection, Bristol for its exhibition and catalogue project: ‘Creative Conversations : Studio ceramics and paintings from The Stradling Collection’
This exhibition is built around the idea of creative conversations: the long-running, often personal exchanges between Ken Stradling and the artists and makers whose work he collected. Rather than presenting the collection as a static group of objects, the exhibition reveals it as something shaped through dialogue and shared ideas.
The exhibition develops through three chronological and stylistic ‘Creative Conversations’, tracing shifts in studio ceramics across the mid- to late-20th century. Each section features 30-40 ceramic works with supporting archival material, including letters, notes, and other forms of communication between Ken and individual makers. These materials illustrate how relationships developed over time and how conversations, both literal and creative, played a role in shaping the collection.
Running alongside these exchanges is a quieter but equally significant dialogue: the presence of paintings by Ken’s wife, Betty Haggar. Her still-life works, some featuring ceramics, are shown in conversation with the pots Ken chose to live with and collect. Together, they create a layered narrative linking object, image, and domestic space.
Rather than asserting direct influence, the exhibition poses questions about the extent to which Betty’s artistic practice shaped Stradling’s collecting choices and his relationships with makers. By placing ceramics, paintings, and archival material next to each other, Creative Conversations invites reflection on how taste is formed, how collections evolve, and how personal and professional exchanges contribute to the construction of cultural value.