MEET THE MEMBER – Cornwall Contemporary
We are thrilled to share the news that Sarah Brittain-Mansbridge, Director of Own Art member gallery Cornwall Contemporary, has been awarded an MBE for Services to Art in the King’s Birthday Honours List. We had the privilege of speaking to Sarah about the 28 years leading up to her award that she has dedicated to championing artistic talent and promoting the visual arts in Cornwall.
Sarah began her creative journey at Falmouth College of Art, where she studied illustration. After graduation in 1996, she worked as a children’s book illustrator for an agency in New York but quickly learned that it wasn’t the career for her, “I didn’t like being by myself in the studio all day and I thought I’d better start looking for something to get dressed for in the morning”. She secured a job at Tate St Ives, where she discovered her passion for gallery work and decided to pursue it as a career. After managing a network of galleries across Cornwall and Wales, Sarah went on to open one of her own. Housed in a three-storey building in the heart of her hometown of Penzance, “which at that time was a dark and dingy car parts shop”, Cornwall Contemporary opened on 1 September 2006 after a month of renovation work.
On top of running the gallery, Sarah has always had a passion for writing and has been fortunate enough to have several books on art published and has been featured on BBC, Sky Arts and ITV. By raising her own profile within the art world, Sarah has been able to secure high profile commissions for her artists, including works of art placed on permanent display in The Dorchester hotel In London and Gordon Ramsay’s Restaurant in addition to working with several global interior designers.
At Cornwall Contemporary, Sarah has always represented a small, core selection of artists as this enables her to be really involved with each of them, “giving them plenty of wall space and regular exhibitions”. She aims to represent a few artists to the best of her ability, and to stick with them throughout their whole career, rather than constantly taking on new artist to whom she cannot give her full attention. This means that the Cornwall Contemporary family is small and grows slowly. Nevertheless, finding new artists is something that Sarah loves to do:
“I never think about whether an artist will sell well, it is literally just down to whether I like the work and feel a connection to it… I need to feel that my artists have a unique voice and need to move me in some way.”
The gallery artists range from landscape artists like Neil Pinkett and Alasdair Lindsay, to figurative painters like Kristin Vestgard to sculptors such as Antonio Lopez Reche and Sharon Griffin to abstract artists including David Mankin. Sarah not only feels a responsibility to her artists, but to Cornwall’s creative community and to the public in general. She works hard to create interesting exhibitions that change every month – even inviting the artist and comedian Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) to exhibit from time to time, “Each time we’ve staged one of Jim’s solo shows, it’s brought people flocking from all over the country down to Penzance to view it”.
Mentorship is also an important and rewarding role that Sarah plays, whether it be work experience placements at the gallery for young people wanting to forge a career in a gallery or working with emerging and early career artists. She has given lectures to groups of graduate artists on how best to navigate the artworld and how to approach galleries, given many portfolio workshops and visited countless artist studios as well. Ultimately, Sarah strives to do her best for artists, explaining that it still thrills her each time she sells a painting, taking “great pleasure in giving the artist the good news immediately and celebrating their achievements through social media and our website”.
On top of making her artists feel supported and her community enriched, Sarah always wants to make sure that visitors to Cornwall Contemporary feel welcomed, relaxed and “part of the family”. Sarah shared that one of the most rewarding parts of her job is when people tell her that they love the artists that she represents and the space she has created at the gallery, “that is why I keep doing what I do”.
Cornwall Contemporary have been Own Art members since 2008, joining only four years after the scheme was established. As one of our longstanding members, we asked Sarah about her experience with Own Art, how being part of the scheme has benefitted her artists, the gallery and the public looking to purchase original art.
“It was always important to me to be an Own Art gallery, and I proudly display the logo and leaflets in the gallery. It enables many first-time collectors to start their art buying journey and helps people stretch to a larger painting rather than buying smaller pieces, they use it to acquire their dream painting.”
“I also see so many people who rush in as soon as they have finished their interest-free payments as they found the whole process so easy and stress-free and are raring to add to their collection with a new addition.”
Whether it is a wheel-thrown mug that you have you morning coffee in, the hand-built vase that holds your flowers or the painting that hangs in your living room, owning something that was created by an artist adds a “huge amount of deep, meaningful value to your life”. Sarah continued, “art is so important to us as a society, especially in troubled times, when doom-scrolling and news watching can feel overwhelming and alienating”.
Just as we do here at Own Art, Sarah believes that art should be made available to everyone and not just the elite. She commented on how important it is to our quality of life, whether it be children’s art classes, museums, art blogs, artist talks, open studios, art galleries, street art “art is all around us and everyone should be made to feel welcome to step into a gallery and connect with it”.
Own Art allows more people to be able to afford the art that they love by helping them split the cost, interest free, over 10 months. Not only does this bring original artwork into the homes of more people, but it also helps artists have access to a wider range of buyers. Sarah’s role as a gallery director is to create the link between maker and art lover, Own Art is just one of the tools she used to build these relationships:
“I firmly believe that Own Art adds a lot of value to my business and is a very trusted and reputable organisation which many galleries have come to depend upon.”
At the beginning of May this year Sarah received a letter from the Cabinet Office, informing her that she had been awarded an MBE for Services to Art in the King’s Birthday Honours List. “To say I was hugely shocked is a very big understatement” Sarah exclaimed, “I thought they had made some kind of mistake”, she added. Having to keep the news a secret for six weeks, Sarah had some time to reflect on her career:
“It has been the privilege of my life to have spent the last 28 years working with talented artists and promoting art in Cornwall, in my hometown of Penzance. It’s an honour that I share with all the wonderful artists I’ve ever worked with, I’m immensely proud of them that their artwork is now in collector’s homes around the world.”
“I also share it with my brilliant staff, SJ, Maggie, Emma and Jess and everyone who has been such a champion of what we do here at Cornwall Contemporary – and of course, I also share it with my always supportive husband Dom.”
“I’m so lucky to be part of such a thriving art community and this recognition is the absolute cherry on top. It makes me determined to continue to endeavour to create opportunities for artists to shine and I’m very much looking forward to my investiture at the palace and receiving my medal!”
Looking ahead, there is a wonderful range of exhibitions coming up at Cornwall Contemporary including From the Water, an exhibition of Neil Pinkett’s work, painted directly from his sea kayak and Dutch barge. Then, in 2026, the gallery will be turning 20, for which Sarah has lots of fun and exciting events lined up to celebrate. We can’t wait to hear all about it!
Discover Cornwall Contemporary for yourself:
Visit their website: www.cornwallcontemporary.com
Follow them on Instagram: cornwallcontemporary
With thanks and congratulations to Sarah Brittain-Mansbridge of Cornwall Contemporary. This interview has been edited for clarity, length and readability.
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