The Museum in the Park in Stroud opens its doors again next Tuesday (May 18) and the occasion will be marked with the opening of a special exhibition.

The museum is delighted to be hosting the Society of Wood Engravers 83rd Annual Exhibition - its first of 2021.

The Society exists to promote wood engraving, but also embraces all forms of relief printing, which makes this show a fascinating and affordable collection of images inspired by a wide range of subjects.

It was founded in 1920 by a group of artists who held an annual exhibition that attracted work from other notable artists. 

The group thrived until war broke out, disrupted the demand for their work and cut the supply of materials. In the years that followed, there was a return to the annual exhibition but the group and the cultural context had changed.

After a decade in which there were no exhibitions, the SWE was revived in the early 1980s and has built up an international reputation for excellence. The annual touring exhibition, stringently selected from an open submission, visits several venues each year, showing the best of current work from Britain and other countries.

The exhibition runs from May 18 to July 4 and admission is free with prints available to buy at very affordable prices.

The garden at the Museum in the Park is already open again for pre-booked visits and booking is required to visit the Museum and Gallery via www.museuminthepark.org.uk  

For those of you who are missing creative workshops with other people, there are still a few places on Willow for the Garden workshops with Norah Kennedy on May 22 and 29 - email the Museum for further details at museum@stroud.gov.uk