Wivenhoe's living-room gallery reopens for the Art Trail on 13 to 15 November, then Christmas Cornucopia runs 20 November to 20 December, Wednesday to Sunday.

A gallery that runs out of a family home in Wivenhoe is opening again after five largely quiet years. Shipyard Studios will be a venue on this year’s Wivenhoe Art Trail from 13 to 15 November. It then stays open for its Christmas Cornucopia exhibition from 20 November to 20 December.

The gallery is in a live-work home at the former Cook’s Shipyard, the riverside redevelopment in Wivenhoe, about three miles south-east of Colchester. It was founded by Abi Concannon, who wrote to us about the reopening.

Oil painting of three sailing boats moored on still water, with yellow and blue clouds reflected below them
A painting of moored sailing boats by Debra Weiss, one of the five Art Trail artists. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

The dates

Exhibition Dates Open
Wivenhoe Art Trail Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November 10am to 5pm each day
Christmas Cornucopia Friday 20 November to Sunday 20 December Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

Neither the email nor the gallery’s website gives an entry price or a street address beyond Cook’s Shipyard. Check shipyardstudios.co.uk or email hello@shipyardstudios.co.uk before you set out.

Who is showing

The Art Trail exhibition will feature five artists and makers:

  • Barbara Peirson
  • Debra Weiss
  • Fiona Harmon
  • Laura Fletcher Textiles
  • Nancy Rose Taplin

For Christmas Cornucopia “they will be joined by a further 17 established artists and makers from Essex, East Anglia and from Cornwall to Scotland”, Concannon wrote.

Wall piece of weathered wooden boards, painted strips and metal fittings around a rusted metal sun
An assemblage of weathered wood and metal around a rusted sun, by Fiona Harmon. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

The gallery has started posting a Christmas Cornucopia 2026 page with a “selection of work by artists and makers soon to be on show”, and says more will be added “over the coming weeks”. On 6 October it listed eight names beyond the Art Trail group:

  • Very Colourful Jewellery
  • Sarah Parsons
  • Neville Tatham
  • Sara Johnson
  • Shaun Clifford
  • Ruth Carter
  • Rachel O’Malley
  • Zoe Rubens

The site says the show will take in “painting, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, jewellery, sculpture and contemporary craft”, with “returning Shipyard Studios favourites alongside exciting new exhibitors”.

A hand holds up a woven throw in patchwork blocks of pink, green, grey and mustard against a field
A woven patchwork throw held up in a field, by Laura Fletcher Textiles. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

Art in a living room

The point of the place is that it is somebody’s home. “What makes the gallery distinctive is its setting,” Concannon wrote. “Visitors experience artwork within a lived-in environment rather than a traditional gallery space, creating an accessible and welcoming way to engage with contemporary art and discover how artwork can sit within everyday life.”

The gallery’s own history fills in how that works. “The gallery is our living room and office,” it says. “For each exhibition we clear personal items but keep the furniture and domestic scale so visitors see work in a familiar, accessible setting.”

Loose watercolour of reeds and trees at the edge of still water in brown, rust and grey tones
Wetlands at Dusk, a watercolour by Sara Johnson. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

Concannon is a leadership consultant and psychotherapist. She describes Shipyard Studios as reflecting “a long-standing interest in creating spaces where creativity, connection and wellbeing can flourish”, and says it “offers an informal environment where people can encounter art, conversation and community.”

How it started, and why it stopped

According to the gallery’s website, it began in 2011, when Concannon and her young family moved into a live-work unit at Cook’s Shipyard “where home, studio and public walkway met”. In the site’s words: “What started as an experiment with local creatives became pop-up exhibitions featuring artists and makers from East Anglia and beyond.”

Two thrown pottery bowls with cream glazed rims and terracotta bases on a stone slab
Two glazed terracotta bowls by Neville Tatham. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

Christmas Cornucopia grew out of those shows. The site calls it “a seasonal celebration of abundant, diverse work: ceramics, textiles, jewellery, printmaking, fine art and crafted objects for everyday life.” Its past events pages run from 2014 to 2018, when the listing described more than 30 artists and makers in what it called the show’s eighth year.

Turned burr wood bowl with a dark, swirling grain and a natural hole near the centre
A turned burr wood bowl by Shaun Clifford. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

Then came the pandemic. “After pandemic-related focus on NHS leadership and growing my business Shaw Concannon Consultants, the gallery has been mostly dormant since 2021,” Concannon writes on the site. “Christmas Cornucopia 2026 marks its return, emphasising quality, choice and craftsmanship across disciplines, united by excellence and commitment.”

The homepage puts it more simply: “We took a break after the pandemic but we’re back!”

Several necklaces of large patterned glass beads in turquoise, ochre, cream and grey laid on a white surface
Glass bead necklaces by Ruth Carter. Photo: via Shipyard Studios
Polished silver cuff, ring, pendant and earrings with a rippled texture on a white background
Textured silver cuff, ring, pendant and earrings by Rachel O'Malley. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

What it means for you

If you are doing the Wivenhoe Art Trail on 13 to 15 November, Shipyard Studios is one of the stops, open 10am to 5pm each day.

If you are after Christmas presents made by hand, Christmas Cornucopia gives you a month of weekends and midweek days, Wednesday to Sunday, from 20 November to 20 December. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Two dark metal swan sculptures facing each other, joined at the base
A pair of metal swans by Zoe Rubens. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

Concannon has offered interviews with herself and the artists taking part, and the gallery’s Christmas Cornucopia page will fill out as more work is added. It also posts on Instagram.

Anodised metal cuff in purple, yellow and green with green triangular drop earrings
A painted metal cuff and drop earrings by Very Colourful Jewellery. Photo: via Shipyard Studios
Five fabric key fobs in purple, blue and pink floral prints laid on a wooden surface
Floral fabric key fobs by Sarah Parsons. Photo: via Shipyard Studios

For more to do this autumn, see what’s on in Colchester this month and the Colchester Christmas market on 6 December.