the riverfront gallery
The Riverfront Gallery hosts a broad spectrum of diverse and exciting arts exhibitions throughout the year. We are proud to host exhibitions by professional and emerging artists, sculptors, community groups, and schools. From photography to film, textile to graphics, fine art to performance art, the gallery provides a perfect platform to showcase work to the hundreds of visitors who come into The Riverfront each week.
CURRENT Exhibitions
John Hicks 149
On display: 2 October to 31 October
Located: Main Art Gallery
John Hicks is a Welsh Artist, specialising in oil-painting, mixed media work and digital imagery. His work is inspired by the people and places around him, using mindfulness and mental health themes. His work is figurative, often featuring surrealism with some abstract expressionist elements.
John was born, brought up and educated in Newport (BA hons in Graphic design with illustration). His family history dates back generations in Newport (Pillgwenlly) and Brigend County Borough. He has worked as an Art, Photography and English teacher over 30 years, 25 of them in Newport High School (formerly known as Bettws High school). John retired from teaching in 2024.
Now a full-time artist, John has exhibited in solo and group shows around Wales and England. His ambition is to enjoy the creative process, spending the rest of his life getting as good as he can at Art, maybe as good as his Art heroes. He lives in Penarth with his wife, Ann and two adult children.
upcoming Exhibitions
Abounding with Fish?
On display: 4 November - 15 November
Located: Main Art Gallery
The River Usk is the longest river to flow entirely through Wales. Its ancient name means 'abounding with fish'.
‘Abounding with fish?’ explores the role of the River Usk in the lives and livelihoods of the people and wildlife who call the Usk Valley home - from the Bannau Brycheiniog to the Newport wetlands. The exhibition brings together work by young artists aged 12-30 - Dan, Alma, Rey, Felix, Arron, Callum, Ella, Katie, Eve, Millie, Mariama, Isla, Emily, Betsi, Tia, Aneurin, Zeta, Cerys, Eben, Hannah, Ben and Rhys - created in conversation with over 200 Usk Valley residents.
At the heart of the exhibition is a new, large-scale map of the entire Usk Catchment. This is no ordinary map: it moves across time, feeling and memory to record what communities love about the river today while also tracing the losses and damage they witness. Because the Usk is no longer abounding with fish. Pollution, habitat degradation and climate change are taking their toll on salmon, trout and wildlife of many kinds. People who swim in the river risk falling ill, and water flashing off depleted uplands carries floods and fear downstream.
‘Abounding with fish?’ looks to the past to help us understand the present and chart a course toward a future in which the river — which connects more than 200,000 people — can thrive.
The exhibition, initiated by Ben Roberts, is organised by Action for Conservation and Peak Cymru. It marks the launch of Action for Conservation’s new project, Llifo/Flow, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Partnering with Peak Cymru, Landed Futures and the Usk Catchment Partnership, Action for Conservation is working with Young People to restore the River Usk, encouraging decision-makers to embrace community knowledge and youth leadership in the design, development and delivery of nature restoration efforts on Welsh rivers.
The Recovery by Ty Dolbel
On display: 28 November - 7 December
Located: Upstairs Mezzanine
‘The Recovery’ is an intimate exploration of the journey through mental struggle toward healing and hope. Each piece captures the raw weight of darkness and despair - yet reaches toward the fragile light that breaks through it. This exhibition invites viewers to witness the quiet courage it takes to keep moving, to rediscover colour after the grey, and to believe in the possibility of tomorrow once more. It is a story of falling, mending, and finding the strength to begin again. Created by Newport artist & creative, Ty Dolbel. Ty creates personal pieces in his studio space at The Place Newport with the support of Tin Shed Theatre Co. He is a valued volunteer and community member that works to promote positive attitudes and a positive Newport.
Warnings: There are mentions of suicide, mental health, death, self-harm, strong lanuage and drug references.
Past Exhibitions
If you are interested in exhibiting in our gallery please email Sally-Anne Evans at sally-anne.evans@newportlive.co.uk or call 01633 656757.