A new exhibition at Stroud Valley Artspace will explore what happens when visual culture becomes “content” and ask whether artists are now content creators. They Are Content, by May and Mark Darbyshire, will be shown at the venue on John Street in Stroud during November 2026.
The exhibition brings together two connected bodies of work. Ceramic objects made by and for May Darbyshire’s Kingdom of Imagined Animals will be displayed alongside Mark Darbyshire’s collection of found animal images.
Exhibition dates and opening times
The listing gives the venue address as Stroud Valley Artspace, 4 John Street, GL5 2HA. The gallery will be open from 10am to 3pm on Thursday, November 5, Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, with a further opening on Saturday, November 14 from 10am to 3pm.
An evening opening is also listed for Friday, November 6, from 5pm to 8pm. The event listing identifies the exhibition as running through Saturday, November 14.
Art, technology and uncertainty
The exhibition description considers how visual culture has “drifted and became content”, with material delivered at scale and often shaped by immediacy and sensationalism rather than traditional ideas of quality or meaning.
It also examines the increasingly unclear boundaries between humans and machines, alongside concerns about truth and privacy. The artists describe this uncertainty as something that can sharpen curiosity and encourage participation and craft—qualities they connect with creativity.
The exhibition’s stated purpose is to acknowledge that people are “content” while trying to detach from the poverty of constant image streaming. Through the combination of ceramic forms and found imagery, They Are Content considers whether new opportunities can emerge as older structures collapse.