Hannah Garland is the owner of a new art gallery, shop and studio in Framlingham, Suffolk, called The Cat’s Whiskers. Here, Hannah, who is an artist herself, explains what has led her to opening the space
A new art gallery, shop and studio opened in Framlingham earlier this month and the owner says she hopes it will be a space to inspire artists, makers, creatives and tutors alike. Hannah Garland was born and raised in Suffolk and is an artist herself – one who was shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer exhibition last year. She likes to experiment with many different mediums, all on a slightly theatrical, comical, playful theme, as her background is in theatre and comedy.
After studying set design and stand-up comedy at Middlesex University in London as part of a theatre studies degree, Hannah went on to work in the props department at The Royal Opera house, as well as performing comedy, before coming back to Suffolk to single-handedly raise her two boys, both of whom are very creative themselves: Alf is a street photographer, previously at Leeds University and Sam is studying product design at Bristol university.
The move back to Suffolk, 22 years later was very much about providing a gentler way of life for her children, and Hannah immersed herself in their upbringing for the majority of the time, but also found time to paint, and become involved in local theatre and film making. She wrote a screenplay, that became part of the feature film ‘With Love from Suffolk’; wrote a biography for another local artist; and started imagining the real possibility of life as an independent artist about five years ago, after a successful exhibition in Cambridge.
Suffolk has always remained a welcoming, slower-paced environment, and the gallery came about as an idea just at a critical turning point in Hannah’s life, when the idea of her boys leaving the nest felt so overwhelming that she knew she had to make a big change for herself in order to cope – she considered a move back to London, or a move abroad, but when the opportunity arose to rent the space that is now her gallery something felt right. Having spent a life immersing herself in art, theatre and film-making, to have a space where she can surround herself with creativity, whilst still creating her own work in a little studio in the back of the shop, felt like bliss.
Hannah is very keen to keep the gallery an inclusive and welcoming space, so launching with an open exhibition for anyone to submit their work to, without any selection process, was very much part of that plan. She says she felt lucky to have received a broad and brilliant selection of work for the gallery’s inaugural exhibition. “The Open exhibition was primarily about showcasing local artists and encouraging students to exhibit, who submitted some incredible work!”
The artists in the Open Exhibition include:
Lois Taylor – fresh out of Goldsmiths
Kasia Hobson – a local artist producing emotive figurative works
Samantha Fellows – a London-based figurative painter known for capturing fleeting, split-second moments, and part of New Contemporaries 2025
John Bawtree – a hugely successful award-winning architectural painter
Sophie Crockett – a Suffolk-raised artist merging folk art traditions, and magical realism; her work sits in many private collections over Europe and America
Lynn Foster – a sculptural and glassware artist working in bullseye Glass imported from America; she is drawn to mid-century modern and Japanese design
Alice Garland (Hannah’s sister) – a prolific ceramicist, producing beautiful delicate pieces of tableware in sheets of porcelain, exhibiting and selling widely across East Anglia and London
Lucinda Rogers – known for her pictorial journalism work for The Guardian newspaper, and extensive works in New York
Hannah wants to use the gallery for artists near and far to show-case their own work, with solo or shared exhibitions, to change on a regular basis, as well as sell original pieces of fine art, sculpture, pottery, jewellery, glassware…anything goes…in the shop. She hopes to begin small classes in the evenings as well and is currently searching for like- minded tutors. She says: “Art is everywhere, and should be accessible to everyone, I would like my little place to be a welcoming space, bringing as much joy as it can to everyone.”
The Cat’s Whiskers Gallery, 4 Market Hill, Framlingham, Suffolk. Follow @thecatswhiskersgallery on Instagram. The gallery is available to hire on a weekly basis to artists wanting to showcase their work – email thecatswhiskersgallery@gmail.com
Featured image of Hannah Garland – by Folk Features
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