Celebrating the artists of English Bridge Studios
With just two weeks left to visit the EBS Showcase at Gateway Gallery, we are celebrating the artists, stories and studio community behind the exhibition, including two new Art Shrew Podcast episodes with exhibiting artists.
The EBS Showcase has been on the walls at Gateway Gallery for a little while now, and somehow we are already down to the final couple of weeks.
Open until Tuesday 26 May 2026, the exhibition brings together work by artists based at English Bridge Studios, giving visitors a chance to see just some of the creativity happening inside one of Shrewsbury’s long standing studio communities.
What makes the showcase feel special is the mix. English Bridge Studios is not home to one type of artist, or one neat style of work. The exhibition moves between printmaking, drawing, photography, ceramics, painting and mixed media, with each artist bringing their own way of seeing and making.
There are pieces that feel quiet and careful, others that are more bold, tactile or playful. Some works feel rooted in observation, others lean into imagination, process, colour or material. It is that mix that gives the exhibition its character. You get a sense of the different practices happening behind the studio doors, and the many ways artists approach their work.
The exhibition is also a reminder of how much creativity is happening across Shrewsbury, not always loudly, and not always in obvious places. Behind the doors of buildings like English Bridge Studios, artists are making, experimenting, developing work and finding community with one another. This annual showcase is a chance to bring some of that work out into the open and celebrate it properly.
To sit alongside the exhibition, Lucy Caddel has also recorded two episodes of The Art Shrew Podcast with artists from English Bridge Studios.
Lucy is an artist, educator, podcast host and trustee of SADAA Arts, the charity that runs Gateway Gallery. Her podcast gives space for relaxed, thoughtful conversations with artists and creative people, making it a lovely companion to the exhibition.
For the EBS Showcase, she has spoken with Megan Ward, an oil painter and newly appointed director of English Bridge Studios, about her own work, the wider EBS community, and some of the artists included in the exhibition.
She has also recorded an episode with Harry Phillips and James Fitzpatrick, two exhibiting artists based at EBS. Harry works with ceramics, while James works in digital illustration, and the conversation gives another glimpse into the range of creative practices represented in the show.
Together, the episodes add another layer to the showcase, giving visitors the chance to hear directly from some of the artists involved and get a better sense of the community behind the work.
The EBS Showcase is open at Gateway Gallery until Tuesday 26 May 2026, so there is still time to pop in before it comes down. It is a lovely chance to see the work, hear more from the artists, and celebrate the creative community of English Bridge Studios.
Listen to the podcast episodes
Megan Ward & The English Bridge Studios
Harry Phillips & James Fitzpatrick from The English Bridge Studios
