EXHIBITIONS | Edinburgh Art Gallery

THE WEIGHT OF WAITING | 7 Mar - 4 Apr 2026

The Gender Health Gap - an exhibition of artwork by women who have personally, or through a woman close to them, experienced missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and/or late diagnosis and disproportionate delays in receiving adequate healthcare; together with reference to coping with long term illness and the death of loved ones.

Weight of waiting:
The emotional burden, psychological distress, and anxiety that comes from a period of waiting which can also manifest in a variety of physical symptoms and deterioration in physical health.

BENEATH THE VEIL | 3 Oct - 1 Nov 2025

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EXHIBITION CONTAINS REFERENCES TO SUBJECT MATTER THAT YOU MAY FIND DISTRESSING. PLEASE TAKE CARE WHEN READING THE TEXT WHICH ACCOMPANIES ARTWORK.

Coinciding with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, this exhibition focused on the work of artists using visual art as a means of expression, exploration, connection, release, and recovery.

Veil: something used to conceal, protect or enhance

WE ARE THE WITCHES II. WE ARE, HEAR | 1 - 30 Aug 2025

Opened exactly a year to the day since THOS's first Edinburgh show, this exhibition showcased the textile artwork of 70 wise women artists using their craft to challenge, disturb and disrupt.

"The witch is at once female divinity, female ferocity, and female transgression. She is all and she is one." ~ Kristen J Sollee

This show ran throughout the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe. Whilst The House of Smalls is not an official festival venue due to the high costs involved, the gallery sits within 1 - 10 minutes' walk of many registered venues.

THE ASCENT OF MAN | 23 May - 21 June 2025

Following on from International Women's Day on 8 March, this exhibition showcased the textile work of 80 female artists responding to their experiences of being a woman.

This show featured the completed I Am Woman Project, a large textile piece two-years in the making by Holly Searle (The Subversive Stitcher), incorporating 81 small textile works created by over 60 women. The background to this piece can be read on the I Am Woman Project feature below.

Contexture:
• the act of weaving or assembling parts into a whole
• an arrangement of interconnected parts; a structure

CONTEXTURE | 21 Mar - 19 Apr 2025

HIDDEN | 21 Nov - 22 Dec 2024

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EXHIBITION CONTAINS ARTWORK AND TEXT WHICH MAY BE UPSETTING. PLEASE TAKE CARE WHEN VIEWING.

Timed to coincide with 25 November - White Ribbon Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence - this was an exhibition of artwork by 60 women who have been affected by domestic abuse (in any of its many forms) and sexual violence.

CHIPPING CAMPDEN EXHIBITIONS

Between The Lines (2024)

Exhibiting the work by 65 artists responding to the theme of ageing, this was The House of Smalls last show in the Chipping Campden space.

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." ~ Dylan Thomas

We Are The Witches (2023)

The last show of 2023 and the final one of its first year in a gallery space. A celebration of all things witchy, this show exhibits the work of 75 UK and international artists.

"Being a witch means living in this world consciously, powerfully, and unapologetically." ~ Gabriela Herstik

In Memory Of (2023)

This show exhibited the work of 80 artists in both the dollhouse and main space, exploring themes of remembrance, memory, and loss.

~ A show for artworks made in remembrance of someone lost/left. Not all memories are loving.

DOLL (2023)

This show exhibited over 100 pieces of work from 70+ artists in both the dollhouse and main space.

"It is an anxious, sometimes a dangerous thing to be a doll. Dolls cannot choose; they can only be chosen; they cannot 'do'; they can only be done by." ~ Rumer Godden

The Time of Her Life III (2023)

The third exhibition of the same name, this exhibition featured the very diverse and relatable work of 55 women artists responding to their thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they traverse the restless waters of peri/menopause and beyond. An emotive, honest, powerful, funny, and uplifting show.

SCAR (2023)

This was the second exhibition in Chipping Campden space, and brought together 65 artists responding to the title theme in both the main space and the dollhouse.

Scar:

~ A mark on the skin which is left after a wound has healed

~ A physical or emotional experience which has left a permanent effect on the mind

Walk The Line (2023)

This was the inaugural exhibition for The House of Smalls Chipping Campden gallery and the first show in two spaces, exhibiting the work of 50 artists with 29 pieces in the dollhouse and 31 in the large space. This show was my biggest gamble and the beginning of a very steep and very much ongoing learning curve!

Artists were asked to respond to the title theme, Walk The Line, for both shows, the brief of which was left very much open to interpretation with one exception - work was to include a prominent horizontal line.

DOLLHOUSE ONLY SHOWS

The Time of Her Life II (2022)

This group exhibition was shown in the original dollhouse at the inaugural Fronteer Independent Art Fair, Chester, between as the Houses went out publicly for the first time.

All artworks were original small pieces created by 31 women using a variety of mediums to express their thoughts, feelings and emotions as they navigate and negotiate the murky waters of peri/menopause.

Shadow (2022)

This group exhibition shown in the dollhouse at the inaugural Fronteer Independent Art Fair, Chester, as the Houses went out publicly for the first time.

All artworks were original small pieces created by 36 artists responding to the (title) theme using a variety of mediums.

Shadow:

~ partial or complete darkness produced by a body coming between rays of light (and a surface)

~ used in reference to proximity, ominous oppressiveness, or sadness

~ a weak or inferior remnant or version of something

Confined (2022)

This show exhibited the artwork of 32 women who responded to the title/theme of confinement. This was a slightly smaller and very international show with participating artists residing in Brazil, Canada, Greece, Iran, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, UK and US.

It's My Life (2022)

This exhibition showed the work of 41 artists who responded to a call for artwork based around medication, self-medication, dependence and/or addiction; whether past, present or intermittent.

"Could've been the whiskey, could've been the pills, could've been the dream she was trying to kill" ~ Emmylou Harris

A Winter's Tale (2021/2022)

The original dollhouse had a little wintery show up for a couple of weeks in our former local pub, The Red Lion, Castle Eaton. A Winter's Tale was a group exhibition of artwork created by village residents responding to the title theme.

Mirror Mirror on The Wall (2021)

Mirror Mirror on the Wall was an exhibition of artwork by 40 artists responding to the title and theme which was very much open to interpretation.

"I’ll be your mirror, reflect who you are, in case you don’t know" ~ Velvet Underground and Nico

Vintage Castle Eaton (2021)

The village we lived in won Best Kept Small Village in Wiltshire, and Best Newcomer 2021, and 26 September was the award unveiling ceremony. The prints are all vintage village photos which I divided into community focal points - people, farming, church, pub, and bridge over the Thames.

This Volatile State (2021)

This was the fourth group exhibition featuring the work of 39 UK and international artists responding to the title of this show.

'State'

~ the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes

~ the condition of matter with respect to structure, form, constitution, phase

~ the place where someone or something comes from

The state of self; the state of being; the state of living.

The Time of Her Life (2021)

This show brought together 39 women using visual art and words to express their emotions, thoughts and feelings as they navigate and negotiate their way through the murky waters of perimenopause and menopause.

We are bombarded with positive quotes and uplifting images to remind us that this is a time of celebration and liberation - but is it? What were you told? What were you not told? Who were you and who have you become? Indeed, is this inevitable transition worthy of mention at all?

The Portrait Within (2021)

The second show, and first in the big house, featuring 35 UK and international artists.

We all have an outward self/selves, the one(s) that we present to the many worlds we inhabit: external manifestations of life experiences, influences that have surrounded us to this moment, and as a result of choices that we have made. But how do we really view ourselves? This isn’t a true portrait show nor a question of identity but rather about the hidden self.

Facing It (2020)

Facing It was The House of Smalls' inaugural exhibition, featuring 28 UK and international artists addressing the physical, mental and emotional effects of the 2020 pandemic and lockdowns.