September and October 2026

For the next exhibition in the gallery, in the months of September and October, we have a return visit from the Derby Sketching Club.

The sketching club has been in existence since 1887, when six Derby bachelors met in the County Hotel bar and decided to form what became thought of as one of the liveliest drawing clubs outside of London.

It’s annual exhibitions quickly became one of the most important events in Derby’s social calendar.

From 1922 Derby had a separate club for women artists. However, in 1966 the first woman joined the men’s club and by 1982 50% of the membership were women.

Now based in Mickleover Community Centre, it meets for many different types of drawing classes during the week with its  thriving and  growing membership.

Having judged its annual exhibition on a couple of occasions I can vouch for the extremely high quality of the members’ work and the Repton Village Hall Gallery looks forward to hosting the group again during September and October. The exhibition can be viewed on all the occasions during the week when the Maple Tree Cafe is open.