Wolterton Hall, 2025

Wolterton Hall, Norfolk
2025 Arts & Culture Programme

For the first time in a generation, Wolterton Hall in Norfolk has opened its doors for visitors with a new Arts and Culture Programme. Conceived by Artistic Director Simon Oldfield, the programme juxtaposes the historic house with contemporary art, a new art commission, and artist residencies, aiming to create a dialogue between old and new. The programme balances major presentations by leading artists alongside projects with local artists and creatives working directly from the grounds of the estate and taking inspiration from Wolterton's locality and history.

Highlights include Sea State, an exhibition with Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson co-curated by Simon Oldfield and Gemma Rolls-Bentley, artist residencies with Dutch artist collective De Onkruidenier as part of the Sainsbury Centre’s current residency programme ‘Can the Seas Survive Us?’, and Norwich-based Clay Research Group. Read more here.
SEA STATE
AN EXHIBITION BY MAGGI HAMBLING AND RO ROBERTSON
11 June – 7 December 2025

The inaugural exhibition at Wolterton, Sea State features new work by Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson and is co-curated by Simon Oldfield and Gemma Rolls-Bentley.

‘At Wolterton, the timeless classical 18th Century interiors will be challenged by the contemporary, but equally timeless, ever moving force of the sea.’ Maggi Hambling

Responding to humanity’s enduring, complex, and increasingly precarious relationship with the ocean, this is the first time that both artists will exhibit together and focus on a shared longstanding, deeply personal connection to the coast.

Presenting in the unique architectural setting of Wolterton both artists respond to the sea not only as a subject, but as a force – a place of emotional power, personal history, and poetic metaphor. Taking over the Marble Hall and Portrait Room Sea State is entirely site-specific and has involved both artists working closely with Wolterton to reenergise the historic house and grounds with new contemporary art.

Both artists are drawn to the sea’s changeable nature—at once unpredictable and overpowering, yet also a place of reflection and transformation. The exhibition invites audiences to consider our intrinsic relationship to the sea, create space for reflection and reminds us not only of our relative insignificance within the vastness of the natural world, but also of our responsibility toward it.

‘Both the sea and Maggi Hambling are vital inspirations, and I couldn't be more honoured to be producing new work for this two-person show. The sea is powerful and fearless, and I draw on this energy to create work of Queer joy that I hope supports the effort to collectively stand up for the diversity of humanity and of the natural world simultaneously.’ Ro Robertson

‘We are thrilled to join forces on this inaugural exhibition in the Wolterton Arts & Culture Programme. The profound connections in the themes explored by Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson will create a unique conversation. It’s a true privilege to showcase their remarkable work together for the first time.’ Simon Oldfield and Gemma Rolls-Bentley

Book free tickets here.
WOLTERTON'S ARTIST RESIDENCIES

The Wolterton Arts & Culture Programme will foster opportunities for local artists, creatives and the public to engage in creative practice. For 2025, the Sainsbury Centre’s artist residency for Dutch artist collective De Onkruidenier will be based at Wolterton. The residency is curated by John Kenneth Paranada, the first Curator of Art and Climate Change at a UK museum and forms part of the art museum’s current investigative programme Can the Seas Survive Us?. The season of exhibitions and interventions, which runs until 26 October, explores our shared and increasingly precarious relationship to the sea in the face of climate change. Featuring contemporary art, historical paintings, ancient atlases and maps from across the globe, exhibitions include A World of Water, Darwin in Paradise Camp: Yuki Kihara and Sea Inside.

De Onkruidenier

Sainsbury Centre artist residency - supported by an Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant and based at Wolterton.

May - September 2025

As part of the Sainsbury Centre’s Can the Seas Survive Us? season of exhibitions and interventions, De Onkruidenier, whose practice often intertwines art, ecology, and activism, will delve into themes of sustainability, regeneration and the interconnectedness of aquatic ecosystems.The artist collective, who will be based at Wolterton, will create new artworks from the silt extracted from the lake on site. This material is sourced as part of a significant environmental initiative to dredge the lake, an essential undertaking aimed at ensuring the long-term vitality of the water body and the biodiversity it sustains, directly echoing the broader environmental concerns of the Sainsbury Centre’s ‘Can the Seas Survive Us?’ programme.

During the Sainsbury Centre residency, De Onkruidenier will develop new work and lead a series of public programmes in collaboration with original projects, Wolterton, YARMONICS, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and the Bluetits open water swimming society. The collective will create sculptural pieces and host a performance-based dinner exploring themes of soil, salt, and transformation. Work from De Onkruidenier can also be seen on display as part of A World of Water at the Sainsbury Centre.

Clay Research Group
1 May – September 2025

Wolterton will also host Norwich-based Clay Research Group (CRG), a collective of artists, lecturers, potters, and researchers dedicated to exploring locally sourced ceramic materials. As part of Wolterton's public programme of events and workshops CRG's project, based in part at Helgate Pottery, will delve into the geological landscape of the Wolterton estate, drawing a direct connection to the Hall's construction in 1741, when clay was extracted from the local area to make bricks for the building. Seeking to re-establish the cyclical relationship of the estate to the local community, CRG will enable artists to work with the very substance of Wolterton and its environs. To further their research and echo the estate's history, CRG will install a wood kiln at Wolterton.

Alongside this project, Norfolk-based artist Nessie Stonebridge, who is also part of CRG, will present an independent body of work throughout Wolterton’s Main Hall. This presentation will include paintings and sculptures created using clay from the same local sources and the Norfolk coast at Holme, and responds to the flora and fauna found in the Wolterton grounds.

To enhance the visitor experience, Wolterton has partnered with Art UK, a charity showcasing the nation's art online, which will provide free online access to Wolterton's cultural assets including its historic collection which features the recently acquired portrait of Maria Walpole by Thomas Gainsborough, its architectural significance, and the contemporary art programme. Bloomberg Connects will offer physical and virtual audiences’ digital access.

Read more here.