Full house as Martin Parr guest lectures at HCA for the first in our 170th talk series

It was such a unique opportunity to hear from the renowned photographer himself, as he discussed the transition of photography over his long and successful career and his experience of capturing the human experience in its many forms.

We were also able to reintroduce Parr to our very own librarian Jo Lacey. Jo had been featured in a series by Parr some twenty years previously, when she worked as a librarian for the mobile library in Powys, which was a wonderful full-circle moment. 

For 170 years we have been the centre for creative education in Hereford. March 7th, marks the anniversary of the  formal opening of Hereford’s first art school - The Elementary School of Drawing and Modelling. Under different names and in different forms the school has evolved over the years into the thriving and inclusive present day HCA it is today.

Creativity is at the heart of Hereford’s past and future.  And whilst the arts school today is wholly focussed on creative education for the modern world, we are truly proud of our history in the city and region, and of the impact our alumni have across the world.

We are, as ever, immensely grateful for the support of our stakeholders and funders, but in particular we would like to thank the Elmley Foundation as our main sponsor for the 170 events programme, for making this all possible. We are finding that this fantastic chance to look back upon our history also offers us the perfect opportunity to look to the future, and discuss how best to nurture the next generation of artists, makers and visionaries.