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We are a well established society of amateur and professional artists and craftspeople committed to promoting arts and crafts in the Petersfield area.
Our workshops, talks and demonstrations are open to everyone and we offer a friendly and encouraging environment where beginners and professionals can meet. Members are encouraged to be involved in the programme and are able to organise activities such as sketching groups and small exhibitions under the wider umbrella of the society. New ideas are always welcome!
Our annual exhibition in August is usually the highlight of the year, attracting visitors from far and wide. You may also enjoy our online gallery to see what some of our members have been working on over recent months.
Please explore our website and keep coming back to check our programme!
PACS is a well-established community organisation enjoyed by artists and craftspeople in the Petersfield area.
The biggest event of the PACS year is our exhibition, traditionally held during the week of August Bank Holiday at Petersfield Festival Hall.
It is a real community occasion which attracts visitors from a large area.
The show is well established in the local calendar as an August Bank Holiday event and enjoys being part of the Hampshire Open Studios trail which encourages visitors to the town to seek out individual local artist studios as well as group exhibitions.
Options for an exhibition in 2021 are being considered by the committee. In the meantime please explore our online gallery page for examples of work by our members!
We have around 300 members from Petersfield and the surrounding area and value the input of our members in all aspects of running the organisation.
Members include professional artists as well as people who have discovered their creative side very recently – please visit our Members’ Websites index.
Every member is allowed to take part in our exhibitions. To find out more about joining please visit our Join Us page.
Free entry to monthly meetings which include demonstrations and lectures.
Opportunity to exhibit and sell art work at the main annual exhibition at Petersfield Festival Hall.
Members are able to enjoy three newsletters per year full of news, views and opportunities.
Keep up to date on Twitter
@PetersfieldArts
The society was formed on Thursday, 8th March 1934 at a meeting of around 40 people who assembled in Winton House in Petersfield High Street. A number of the great and good were present, including the well-known artists of their day Gunning King R.A. (who presided over the meeting) and local artist, Flora Twort R.A. as well as Graham Hoggarth R.A. (the headmaster of Churcher’s College), Edward Barnsley, the furniture maker, Roger Powell, a bookbinder, Graily Hewitt the calligrapher and Mary Ward, who was to become the key to keeping the Society going during the second World War.
Since then it has been run by a committee whose ever-changing members continue to enthusiastically bring together our local artists.
We are a society of amateur and professional artists and craftspeople committed to promoting arts and crafts in the Petersfield area.
