Events for 28 September 2026

The Presence of Absence: An upholsterer, a contemporary surrealist, a painter and a photographer will come together for a two-week interactive exhibition at Brighton’s Regency Townhouse in September 2026. “Your absence is a presence. Who knew an empty space could take up so much room.” Jacqueline Simon Gunn It began with an empty chair, that holds the narrative of those who once sat in it and the comfort or pain that represents; that the absence of someone is as real and as meaningful as their presence. At the heart of this exhibition are 4 vintage chairs; a collaboration between Frances Bloomfield and Emily Beaumont. The chairs will explore the concepts of memory, healing, secrets and retreat. “A chair replaces the presence of someone by holding their absence.” Doris Salcedo “Influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre’s study on Being and Nothingness, we wanted to explore the concept that absence is a very real and substantial being.” Frances Bloomfield Jo Hathaway’s work on memory and reflection bring colour and light and the internal, abstract experience of the theme; Nick Bowman’s photographs each tell their own story of light, nature and the impact of revelation and obscurity, alongside additional work by Frances Bloomfield and Emily […]

Mary Portas: It’s the 1990s: Britpop is dominating the charts, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell are on the cover of every glossy magazine and British fashion is ripe for reinvention. Leading the charge is a 20-something Mary Portas who has been brought in to revitalise the department store Harvey Nichols, at the time more likely to be associated with dowagers than daring designers. With two babies at home, a sceptical, all-male senior management team to impress, and pressure to bring in new brands and customers, Mary steps into a world she doesn’t fully understand. At first it shows, but that vulnerability quickly reveals itself as vision. By the millennium, the store would be renowned for its outrageous, headline-grabbing, traffic-stopping window displays; patronage by style icon Lady Di and bolly-swigging duo Patsy and Edina of the iconic sitcom Ab Fab – no longer fusty old Harvey Nicols but Harvey Nicks, daaarling! Part memoir, part manifesto for business as a creative act, I Shop, Therefore I Am is the story of how she did it.