about us
Hereford is a cathedral city and medieval county town in Herefordshire, UK. Hereford Cathedral dates from the early 12th century and houses a Mundi, a famous thirteenth century map of the world at that time. The city also boasts connections with composer Edward Elgar and Nell Gwynn, the mistress of King Charles ll. This rural city is famous for cider making, cattle, historic buildings and fabulous countryside. It is also home to five colleges and plans are now in place to create a university.
The Butter Market is positioned in the centre of the city. It was built in approximately 1860 and was subsequently damaged by a fire in 1923. It is currently undergoing an extensive modernisation program, having recently secured a private investor. The ground floor accommodates bespoke artisan makers of bread, cheeses, cider and gin, in addition to food stalls offering freshly grown local produce as well as non-traditional stalls selling ‘cooked to order’ Turkish and Korean food. The first floor has been converted into artist studios housing the Market Art Collective, with a proposed gallery space on the top floor.
The Market Art Collective was founded by alumni graduate students from Hereford college of Art, following their successful completion of their master’s course in Fine Art in 2018. Our studios are located on the first floor of the Butter Market set in the centre of the historic town of Hereford. We comprise of nine artists working in a range of disciplines including painting, installation, printmaking, photography and community-based work. The aim of the Collective is to provide a dedicated studio facility based in Herefordshire, enabling professional career progression for practicing artists.
Our MAC community intends to develop links with other artist communities based in the UK and Europe by offering short residencies, including a studio exchange programme, in order to precipitate an energetic, enthusiastic exchange between artists. We intend to hold regular exhibitions of our work within the local surrounding galleries, gaining inspiration from around the area and raising the profile of artists working within the county. Opportunities for the local community to participate in art practices through workshops and studio visits will be offered on a monthly basis. Our Market Art Collective intends to retain close ties with Hereford College of Art and encourage dialogue with current students and members of staff at the college.