Stitched in Song
hosted by Bo Lee Gallery, Bruton
Sip Champagne. Savour canapés. Lose yourself in art & opera.
Thursday 26 March
6pm - 8pm
Tickets: £55 per person
Alice Kettle, Catch me if you can, 2026, Various threads on printed linen mix, 224 x 168 cm 88 1/4 x 66 1/8 in© Alice Kettle. Image courtesy of the Artist and Bo Lee Gallery. Photography by Jesse WildJoin us at Bo Lee Gallery, Bruton, a beautiful former Methodist chapel, for a celebratory evening where art and music intertwine. This special fundraising event brings together the striking textile work of Alice Kettle with the thrilling power of opera, performed by soprano Harriet Eyley, accompanied by If Opera’s Artistic Director, Oliver Gooch.
Thread and voice meet in a shared exploration of contrast and connection, control and abandon, stillness and movement, love and duty. In this intimate setting, opera’s emotional intensity resonates with Kettle’s layered textiles, creating a space where rupture and renewal, suffering and joy, coexist. More than a performance or exhibition, the evening is a vibrant celebration of creativity, collaboration, and hope - an invitation to experience how art and music can move, inspire, and unite us.
Join us for a glass of Taittinger and delicious canapés, and enjoy a relaxed, convivial evening where art meets opera in the beautiful surroundings of this unique chapel-turned-gallery.
Alice Kettle, Spinning plates, do not drop them, 2026, Various threads on printed linen mix, 225 x 116 cm 88 5/8 x 45 5/8 in© Alice Kettle. Image courtesy of the Artist and Bo Lee Gallery. Photography by Jesse Wild
This event helps us raise much-needed funds to support our work.
With your support, we can continue to create sensational experiences for our audiences, community and industry.
Photography by Dave WattsBo Lee Gallery
Founded in 2009, Bo Lee Gallery is committed to supporting artists through close collaboration and meaningful artistic exchange. From the outset, the gallery has prioritised long-term relationships and practices that develop over time through ongoing dialogue.
The gallery is led by Jemma Hickman and is based in a former Methodist chapel in Bruton, Somerset. The scale and light of the building shape the programme and how works are experienced, encouraging a slower, more reflective way of looking.
Engaging with national and international audiences, Bo Lee Gallery supports artists as their practice grows and reaches wider audiences. The gallery maintains an independent curatorial identity with an ambitious programme focused on expression, engagement and connection.
Harriet Eyley, Soprano
Born in Derbyshire, Harriet Eyley began her career an Alvarez Artist with Garsington Opera, subsequently gaining a Leonard Ingrams Award, before joining Welsh National Opera as an Associate Artist. Other companies for whom she has worked include Bampton Classical Opera, English Touring Opera and Opera Holland Park.
Concert highlights have included performances with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Britten Sinfonia and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, as well as regular engagements with Raymond Gubbay Live. She has recently returned to Welsh National Opera as Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro and made her ENO main stage debut as Frasquita Carmen.
Oliver Gooch, If Opera Artistic Director
Oliver has been Music Director of Iford Arts/If Opera since 2005 and Artistic Director since 2019. Opera credits elsewhere include the US premiere of Šárka (New York), Die Zauberflöte (Milan) and L’isola disabitata (Australia, Helpmann Awards Best Opera nomination). He has conducted the LPO, Philharmonia, Hallé, BBCSO, RPO, ROH Orchestra and Northern Sinfonia, Queensland Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, New York Sinfonietta and Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali.
He founded Opera East Productions (receiving Sky Arts South Bank Award), was a Royal Opera Young Artists Programme Associate Conductor and Music Director for Raymond Gubbay arena operas at Royal Albert Hall. He is Director of the Blyth Centre for Music and Visual Arts at Imperial College London.
Alice Kettle
Alice Kettle is an internationally renowned artist and leader in the field of textile arts. Her unique practice results in figurative stitched works from the small to the monumental. She makes full use of the textures and effects made possible through her harnessing of a mechanical process; created both through planning and intuition where stories collide with autobiographical and contemporary events, folklore and mythology.
Kettle's work is included in many international public collections including the Crafts Council, the Whitworth Manchester, Liverpool International Slavery Museum, Museum of Decorative Art and Design, Riga, Latvia, Ararat Art Gallery Australia, the Belger Collection, Kansas City USA.
Photography by Vicky PolakThursday 26 March 2026
Champagne Reception, 6pm - 8pm
Bo Lee Gallery, West End, Bruton, BA10 0BH
Details of how to find the gallery are here.
PARKING
Please note that parking will be available for this event at Mill on the Brue, between Leggs Bridge and the petrol station - see here.
This car park is a two minute walk from the gallery - for directions click here.
£55 per person
Tickets for this event are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.