Programme Archive 2026
After Love: Broken Hearts & Broken Bodies
A radically inclusive open call exhibition and series of public events in response to romantic heartbreak. A project led by Dr Sally Holloway & curated by Audrey Baldwin
This exhibition was part of a major project by historian Dr Sally Holloway, which charts the evolution of romantic heartbreak as an embodied emotional experience over four centuries of history.
It was funded by a Research, Development and Engagement Fellowship from the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
After Love: Broken Hearts & Broken Bodies ran from Thursday 8 - Sunday 18 October 2026
Featuring work by:
Dr Lindsey Holmes
Julie Light
Jill Mueller
Minyu Zhu
Sarah Lederman
Fi Anderson
Wendy Aldiss
Hansa Shree
Pamela Wyles
Nikola Gao
Rachel Dixon
Isobel Walker
Bee Paton
Jessica Ormerod
Haley Hall
Frances Burton
June Dent
Sanjana Reddy
Sasha Dixon
Manda Claridge
Ana Sekulic
Patricia Sheldon-Hicks
Shamsudheen Thayada
Wesley Talbot
Ayel Shatz
Titilayo Samuel Olufemi
Lucy Foo
Amy Letts
Julia Strawinska
Gork
Joseph Lichy
Mick Dye
Laura Azevedo
Naomi Morris
John O'Vincent
Madeline Linnell
Chima Ugwuanyi
Magdalena Przybylo-Gorniak
Rachel Brook
Audrey Baldwin
Roja Babazadeh
Neo Cartouche
Clare Carswell
Miracle Okafor
Oxfordshire Mind
Bringing to an end OVADA’s 2026 Summer Residency programme, Temporary Ground exhibited a selection of new and pre-existing pieces from 10 artists-in-residence:
Melissa Barraza, Pippa Hetherington, Esther Keeley, Pearl Lippin, Serin Lim, Tom Magrane, Louis Paton, Ana Sekulic, Jane Thomas and Bronte Wyse
Temporary Ground ran from Thursday 27- Saturday 29 August 2026
An exhibition with a message: aside from our geo-political position, our social status, or our ethnicity, we share one thing: we are all human.
OVADA Gallery hosted Silence and Screaming from 20th June - 28th June 2026
Creation Theatre's thrilling adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic masterpiece The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was staged here at the OVADA Gallery.
This run of performances delivered a gripping night of theatre, filled with psychological tension, striking visuals, and an immersive encounter with the dark and divided world of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
OVADA Gallery hosted Creation Theatre’s production of Jekyll & Hyde from 29th April - 17th May 2026
An exhibition celebrating the fresh voices and emerging talent of first-year BA Fine Artists at Oxford Brookes University
OVADA Gallery hosted Internal Perspective on Wednesday 22 April 2026
Internal Perspective Exhibition
This beaded bracelet workshop was a hands-on experience inspired by traditional craft practices from Lagos, Nigeria.
Guided by Amy Harris (Oxford Brookes University), participants were invited to slow down, learn a simple beading technique, and enjoy the experience of making together in a welcoming and supportive environment.
OVADA Gallery hosted Skills on Wheels on Saturday 18 April 2026
Grow Into It presented a new body of work by artist Alice Hackney, spanning installation, sculpture, video, print, and textiles.
The exhibition brought together themes from ecological and disability research, drawing attention to overlooked or undervalued connections between bodies, landscapes, and systems of care.
OVADA Gallery hosted Grow Into It from the 26 - 29 March 2026
Voices of Iran was an evening of food and art that brought people together to share, listen, and support Iranian voices within our community
At a time when many in the Iranian diaspora were holding deep concern for loved ones far away, the event created a gentle and welcoming space to come together
OVADA Gallery hosted Voices of Iran on Saturday 21 March 2026
Discontinued was presented to you by art collective Evocation, made up of seven students from The Ruskin School of Art; this marked the collective’s debut exhibition.
Evocation emerged through shared moments of reflection and the convergence of distinct artistic practices. The collective formed around a shifting series of encounters, seeking to create provisional spaces in which conversation, alignment, and productive friction could arise.
OVADA Gallery hosted Discontinued from 12-15 March 2026
Human beings are fascinated by landscape, and the world around us. We find meaning in landscape but also place our own meanings into it.
Landscape and Meaning was an exhibition by Kieran McLean, Anne Griffiths, Emmett Casley and Mark Clay, whose ideas engage with landscapes, in a dynamic variety of interpretations and locations near, far and imagined
OVADA Gallery hosted Landscape and Meaning from 24-28 February 2026
We were blown away by how many of you joined us for A Shared Table: Future of Artists + Communities
This was an open, collaborative conversation about how artists and grassroots arts organisations can survive and thrive together
This event took place on Sunday 22 February 2025
This year’s theme for the Ashmolean Museum’s annual One World Family Festival was Nature, and OVADA took part with a workshop titled Weaving the World
Many thanks to everyone who joined us for a hands-on workshop creating God’s Eyes (or Ojo de Dios) using natural yarns and sticks
This event took place on Saturday 15 February 2026