Above: the Watch This Space exhibition opening night, Wolverhampton Arts Centre
So welcome to Part 2 of my blog on the Watch This Space exhibition I took part in earlier this year. I've wanted to write about this for a while - and just didn't have time during the exhibition or after - you can however find lots of reels and posts I made at the time if you pop over to my instagram @becbroomhall !
I haven't taken part in many events or fairs for a good few years. This is mostly due to not usually having any work to exhibit - as its usually in shops or other places! My time is mostly taken with packing more prints, badges and other giftware for indie shop stockists and I absolutely love doing this! And I also work part time. But I would love to have a better work/event balance and this is one of my goals. So I signed up to this exhibition on the spur of the moment just to see what I could do in the time I had - and push myself out of my comfort zone - and gain some valuable experience.
The exhibition ran for two weeks, 11th-23rd April 2026 - and being part of it also involved invigilating during the day to day when it was open. This was mostly greeting people, keeping an eye on everything - and generally just being there to talk about the work.
Above: the exhibition from the side view of the Gallery Hall @ WAC
I did around 2 and a half days invigilating, as each artist had a few shifts. I met a lot of lovely people, many came over to talk to me when I was there working at my table - and although nervous - I explained to people my journey with my new paintings - and the story of how they had developed. I was also very pleased to sell quite a few of my bookmarks, cards, badges and stickers from my other illustration work. I met many other wonderful artists such as Ralph Aldhous, Jo Aldhous, Caris Jackson (beautiful collages, in love with her work!), Marie Roberts and saw many university friends!
Above: Some of my favourite pieces from the show including Kotti Brewin, Caris Jackson and Sue Brisco
I had some amazing conversations about making art and the thought processes we go through - I remember Jo Aldhous explaining how she arrived at her current printing process that she enjoys purely through experimentation and trial and error. One conversation that stuck with me especially - was a conversation with artist David Irish where he talked about how your mind can be an enemy and a trickster, like when you talk yourself out of doing things. I think this is so true - and made me think about what I had been talking myself out of recently - or putting off because of fear etc. It was really lovely to have some very open and honest conversations with other artists - and it was one of the amazing and unexpected things I took with me from this exhibition.
Overall, this exhibition was a wonderful experience, and I came out of it appreciating all different kinds of art, and different perspectives on creating. There isn't one way of making art - it's all very organic and comes from you, which is what makes it unique. I feel it's very important to remember this, letting what you love naturally flow out of you. And this is something you can't force, you have to let yourself learn and let your practice and style unfold naturally. Although I feel I've got a way to go in terms of getting my portraits and illustrations how I want them - I came out of this exhibition appreciating the point at where I'm at with my own work. I also know more than ever which direction I want to go and where I think I belong - and the things I need to practice and learn.
So there it is - a quick review of a really amazing experience exhibiting at the WAC Wolverhampton !
Join me on my next posts where I'll be talking more about how this new work began - and the sketches and journey that inspired the paintings!
Thankyou for reading! :)
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