Some of you will be aware of why Brook Gallery has been quieter over the past two years; for others, this may be the first time I’ve written properly. During that time, explanations – and futures – have not always been easy to articulate. What matters most is that Brook Gallery has remained very much part of my thinking, and I wanted to reach out now, openly and directly, as a new chapter begins.

For many years, Brook Gallery has held a quiet yet enduring place in Budleigh Salterton – and in the lives of those who have visited, collected from, and engaged with it. It has always been less a shop and more a place of encounter: between people and ideas, between art and attention.

In April 2023, I needed to step back.

My husband developed cognitive problems which we now understand as frontotemporal dementia – behavioural variant (bvFTD). Like many families navigating unexpected change, this altered our rhythm and priorities and required time to realign our lives and values.

As a result, the Gallery entered a period of quiet – not because the art stopped, but because I needed to pause. To listen. To make space for change.

Now, two years on, Brook Gallery is ready to awaken again – but in a way that honours what it has been and embraces what it must become.

The Gallery is being re-imagined as a space for connection, exploration and reflection, where art is encountered through conversation, journalling and context rather than through a traditional shop-front model. A slower, more considered way of looking – and therefore of collecting – art.

This next chapter will be shaped through an ongoing practice of journalling and dialogue: thinking aloud with and around the work, and allowing ideas, themes and artworks to emerge naturally over time. It’s a quieter approach, but one that feels right for the world we’re living in now.

This isn’t a relaunch in the conventional sense. It’s a welcome.

Whether you’ve known Brook Gallery for many years, or are simply reconnecting now, you are very welcome. If you feel open to it, I would love to hear from you – whether to talk, to reflect, or simply to re-engage as the Gallery moves forward in a way that feels meaningful and sustainable.

With warm wishes,

Angela Yarwood