The Margaret Bryan Gallery is an exhibition space named after one of Britain’s pioneering women in science education, who lived on the Caves site in the 18th Century.
Margaret ran a boarding school here for young women, teaching astronomy and the sciences, a radical pursuit at the time.
Our gallery continues in the spirit of providing inspiration in an accessible space.
Image – Mrs Bryan and Her Daughters – Frontispiece to A Compendious System of Astronomy, the whole engraved by William Nutter from a miniature by Samuel Shelley, 1797, 1799 and 1805.
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Current Exhibition
Small Wonders
Until 1 November
Our first open submission small works show on the theme of science and the natural world. Featuring more than 100 small works by 57 artists from across the UK and Europe.
All works are for sale (with proceeds supporting Margate Caves).
Coming Next
Christmas Print Show
28 November - 3 January
An exhibition of works that make perfect Christmas gifts.
Image – From The Margate Cave Dwellers series, by The Design Dealership.
Jude Kingshott: The Alchemy of Nature
15 January - 11 April
This exhibition brings together a diverse collection of work exploring the beauty and transformative possibilities of botanical printing and stitch-resist indigo dyeing on fabric and paper. Kingshott's collection includes stitched textiles, three-dimensional forms, framed wall pieces, vessels, books and wearable art - each revealing a unique dialogue between nature, material and process.
Botanical printing is a captivating natural craft that captures the shapes, colours and intricate vein patterns of leaves, transferring their delicate impressions directly onto fabric and paper. Each print is unique, reflecting the subtle variations and organic details found in the natural world.
Kingshott also showcases Japanese shibori, an ancient and intricate resist-dyeing technique in which fabric is folded, stitched, bound or manipulated in other ways before being dyed, traditionally using indigo. These processes create distinctive patterns, textures and tonal variations, revealing the beauty of chance, experimentation and the maker’s hand.
Images – top: Celestial Orb, Japanese stitch resist techniques on Japanese cotton, indigo dyed then hand stitched.
Above: Paper vessel, botanical printing using leaves, mordants and natural dye on 300gsm paper. Lined with pages from a vintage Japanese book with hand stitching.
