To mark 25 years of championing excellence in British craft and design, Design-Nation presents Beneath the Surface: Material and Meaning — a powerful and poetic exhibition exploring how materials hold stories, memories, and emotion.
Open now at The Hub in Sleaford, the exhibition brings together the work of leading Design-nation members from across the UK, showcasing a rich cross-section of contemporary practice in clay, glass, metal, textile, wood and mixed media.
Every material holds a memory. Every object tells a story.
Each maker explores personal and shared narratives of identity, memory, migration, transformation, and resilience. The artworks encourage us to slow down and look closer, revealing vulnerability beneath their surface and uncovering deeper stories through material, technique, and process. Rooted in lived experience and shaped by sustainable practice, these objects offer quiet yet profound reflections on the unseen forces that shape our lives.
Beneath the Surface is an invitation to pause, reflect and connect – not just with the objects, but with the emotions, histories, and hands behind them.
Exhibiting Artists
Adele Howitt • Amy Cushing • Anne McKenzie • Belgin Bozsahin • Belinda Coyne • Beatrice Mayfield • Bonner Studio • Cosmin Ciofirdel • Debbie Barber • Deborah Timperley • Denise Coupland • Flora Bhattachary • Jemma Gowland • Hounddog Design • Julie Massie • Kim Colebrook • Kira Phoenix K’inan • Majeda Clarke • Mary Johnson • Mari Thomas • Elaine Lim-Newton • Angus Ross • Rosa Wiland Holmes • Steinunn Bjarna • Studio Katherine James • Valerie Bernardini
Visit the Exhibition
Dates: 6 December 2025 – 15 March 2026
Venue: The Hub, Sleaford
This exhibition is available to digital audiences via the Bloomberg Connects app and is also available to tour to UK venues from April 2026 – email [email protected] for more information.
As Design-Nation marks this important milestone, Beneath the Surface reflects the collective creativity, craftsmanship and connection that have shaped our journey since 1999. Together with our partners, members and supporters, we look forward to the next 25 years of innovation, collaboration, and making.
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