Jon Bird and the Fishslab Gallery – a brief history
The Fishslab building was bought by Canterbury Council in 1989.
The idea of creating the Fishslab Gallery was first discussed in the early 1990s by the group of Whitstable artists working in studios known as Johnny’s Arthouse. They used the studios until it was demolished to make way for the Horsebridge Centre. The use of the Fishslab building was negotiated with the help of a local councillor.
Jon Bird, Norma Fryer and Estelle Jourd asked a group of 17 artists to become benefactors and each put in £200 to lease the building from the Council. In June 2009 the flat above the gallery was refurbished, water supplies were turned on and by 2011 gallery improvements had been completed.
The Fishslab Gallery held an annual open competition for local artists to submit work and awarded prizes for different categories. After the death of Jon Bird in 2016, the competition was renamed to commemorate all his work and is now known as the Jon Bird Memorial Exhibition. This was a mark of respect to honour all the work and time he had given to establishing the Gallery in the town. In January 2022 the Fishslab held a successful and well supported Jon Bird competition. The exhibition was the first to include specific categories for under 21s and under 18s.
The next Jon Bird Memorial Exhibition was held in April/May 2025 and attracted a wide range of artists, many exhibiting for the first time. There were eight entries from the under 21 age group and these were from The Whitstable School and Canterbury College. The standard of work was very high, and the winner received a great prize from the University of the Arts London, a six-week short course in a visual art of their choice.
We had 171 visitors over 5 days who were encouraged to participate to vote in the People’s Choice vote.
The prize giving was attended by Daphne Bird, Jon Bird’s widow, who gave a passionate speech about the importance of the Gallery in the community. We hope to continue to celebrate the memory of Jon Bird and the establishment of this unique Gallery.
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