Collaborating with Barnes Artists
A creative partnership born from our Tricentenary celebrations.
In spring 2025, Barnes Bowling Club and Barnes Artists came together for the fourth OSO Easter Art Fair — held from 17 to 21 April at the Arts Centre. Around 30 artists exhibited a wonderful mix of work across different genres and media, and the Club was proud to be part of it.
The fair featured a dedicated panel of works inspired by the Club, with Barnes Artists generously donating one of the paintings as a raffle prize for the Club — a gesture that spoke volumes about the warmth of the partnership. Michelle Hawes' piece "Celebrating History" was selected for the OSO's advance publicity, a fitting tribute to the subject matter.
The partnership began in 2023, when the Club was planning how to mark its Tricentenary in 2025. We invited local artists down to the green to see if nearly 300 years of history might spark some creativity — and it absolutely did. The 2024 season saw a real flurry of artistic activity, with David Pearce's painting of the coats and hats in the Clubhouse becoming the headline image of the November 2024 Barnes Art Fair, where it sold almost immediately.
The OSO kindly agreed to group the works together as a joint panel — something they don't usually do — and the Club contributed £100 towards the cost of the display as part of its Tricentenary celebrations. It felt like the right way to honour both the green and the artists who had found inspiration in it.
Many of the works — including pieces by Michelle Hawes and David Pearce — also featured in a book of Barnes Artists' works published in 2025. It is a lasting memento of a genuinely mutual collaboration, and a reminder that a 300-year-old bowling green can still inspire something new.