Art UK is delighted to announce the launch of Abbot Hall's guide on the Bloomberg Connects app. Abbot Hall, situated in Kendal, Cumbria, is part of Lakeland Arts.
The Bloomberg Connects app is a free digital guide where you can explore content from numerous cultural organisations. Wherever you are in the world, you can access a range of content, either to add to your experience viewing the gallery in person, or to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. The guide for Lakeland Arts' Abbot Hall is an exciting addition to the diverse array of cultural institutions currently represented on the app.
The Lakeland Arts: Abbot Hall guide on the Bloomberg Connects app
Abbot Hall reopened on Saturday 20th May 2023, launching a fresh direction for the gallery with a major exhibition by internationally renowned British artist Julie Brook.
Located in a Grade I listed Georgian building on the banks of the River Kent, Abbot Hall has an exceptional collection of historic and contemporary art. The extensive art collection, one of the largest of its kind in the North of England, is not on permanent display. Pieces of art are selected to tell stories in conversation with commissioned artists or temporary exhibitions. Collection pieces on display as part of the current exhibition 'What is it That Will Last?' include Frank Auerbach, Elizabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, John Ruskin, J. M. W. Turner and Charmaine Watkiss.
Lucian Freud 
The guide features a variety of highlights, including a showcase of the current exhibition, 'Julie Brook: What is it That Will Last?', as well as thematic groupings of works from the Abbot Hall collection.
The Lakeland Arts: Abbot Hall guide on the Bloomberg Connects app
In 'What is it That Will Last?', as the guide explains, 'visitors are invited to explore the artist's deep and immersive relationship with the landscape, which incorporates film, sound, photography and drawing.'
'It is through living simply and close to the ground, in tune with the weather and seasons that I am drawn into these landscapes, where I feel a freedom to explore and respond in the most elemental way.' – Julie Brook
The People section of the guide is filled with fascinating stories: from champion Cumbrian wrestlers to the courtiers of Elizabeth I, portraiture allows us to connect with people past and present.
Lonely Road, Maryport, West Cumbria, by Eric A. Quinn is one highlight from the section.
The street scene shows a row of terrace houses typical to the town of Maryport in Cumbria. The town's housing largely consists of terraces of cottages built on a grid system. Employment centred on coal mining and shipbuilding but both industries went into decline towards the beginning of the twentieth 20th century.
The Lakeland Arts: Abbot Hall guide on the Bloomberg Connects app
Abbot Hall's Bloomberg Connects guide also celebrates the wider work of Lakeland Arts. The organisation 'works across Cumbria to create sustainable, artistically and socially compelling, learning and participation opportunities'.
To explore more of Abbot Hall, download the Bloomberg Connects app today.
Jolif Guest, Collections Content and Liaison Officer, Art UK
Scan the QR code to download the Bloomberg Connects app
