Freedom Through Expression at Alton gallery

Round & About

The FTE Art Gallery is looking forward to celebrating it’s first anniversary in September. The gallery exhibits art and craft by people with disabilities, local artists and crafts people as Glynis Watts tells us

Alton’s Freedom Through Expression Art Gallery is proving a real draw with locals and visitors who are enjoying the regularly changing exhibitions, unusual craft exhibits and joining Saturday watercolour classes. 

Our beautiful Grade II listed building, which houses the Gallery, the fledgling Freedom Framing and Printing and our art and craft workshops, are enterprises of the Trust Fund for Training Disabled Children in the Arts. The Trust Fund has been supporting young people and schools since its inception in 1987.     

We are delighted to share the news that brilliant artist, Tom Yendell, pictured; member of the Mouth and Foot Painters Artists, Chair of the Trust Fund for Training Disabled Children in the Arts and the driving force behind many other projects supporting Young People with Disabilities, was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025. 

Tom has been part of the MFPA family for nearly 40 years. As well as being a prolific creator of colourful, bold graphic works of art, he is a passionate advocate for inclusion, education, and the power of creativity. The Gallery is proud to have a permanent exhibition of prints and originals from some of the 800 worldwide artists that belong to the MFPA. The scope of the amazingly wide range of subject matter and the huge talent of the artists, means that there is something to fill anyone’s wall space. 

The Gallery holds regular demonstrations by exhibiting artists. Our Mouth and Foot painting artists always gather a crowd. Trust Trustee Keith Jansz will be demonstrating and exhibiting at his ‘one man’ show later in the year. Bazza West’s demonstrations last year drew great admiration for his bold and colourful birds. In recent weeks we have been delighted to feature local artist Tim Burns and basket maker extraordinaire Angela Cross. In June we exhibited the Fleet Women artists collective with a stunning and diverse collection of artworks. In July we held a schools’ exhibition featuring Treloars. 

In September we will be featuring the winning entries of the 2025 Unique Art Awards. Another Tom Yendell project; supported by the Trust Fund for Training Disabled Children in the Arts. 

To keep in touch with our new exhibitions and demonstration dates or if you’re interested in joining or hosting workshops;  join our mailing list – contact gallery@freedomthroughexpression.art. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-4pm. 

The Gallery, which was officially opened by Alan Titchmarsh last September, is proving a real ‘draw’ with Altonians, and the many visitors to the town, who are enjoying our regularly changing art exhibitions, unusual craft exhibits and joining our Saturday art classes.