Collective 26
Artists
Meet the artists who are resident at Collective Gallery in 2026. Over the next year they will be working as a group show casing their work in exhibitions at the gallery. They will also each have a solo show and will engage with the community on other projects.
Eleanor Grana is an artist based in Hitchin, who primarily works with stained glass. She is most inspired by the local landscape, folklore, and our connection to the stories and stones of Hertfordshire. She loves travelling to local folklore sites and exploring meaning making between humans and nature, finding liminal spaces in local places.
Eleanor Grana
Elizabeth Walker
Elizabeth Walker (b. 2003, Zapopan, Mexico. Raised in Northern Ireland) is a visual artist specializing in painting and printmaking, whose work explores themes of memory, materiality, and migration. She holds a BA in Fine Art from Arts University Bournemouth and has undertaken notable residencies, including the Bournemouth Underground Gallery Artist Residency, Access Residency with Bournemouth Emerging Artist Fringe, and a month-long residency at Boom Studios in Bangor. Her work has been exhibited nationally across the UK, with shows at the Ulster Museum, Axis Gallery, Boscombe Depot, and the National Portrait Gallery.
Featured in Art It (Issue 13), her practice has also been recognized through her roles as a cultural programmer for the National Portrait Gallery and a teaching assistant for Art History Link Up, reflecting her commitment to arts accessibility.
Marta Nicholson explores the quiet connections between humans and the natural world, focusing on the small details we often overlook. She brings together organic forms and human-made patterns to reveal their shared rhythms. The work reflects our place at the centre of this relationship and the importance of co-exiting in harmony. A reminder that co‑living with nature is both possible and necessary.
Marta Nicholson
Mella Kelly
Mella Kelly expressively tells a story, transports and captivates. In impasto acrylic strokes and oil landscapes, in her delicate watercolours and vibrant collage, she captures the paradox of both the human form and nature’s wildness: the interwoven paradox of dark and light, solemnity and joy, evocative and provocative. After a sabbatical exploring the world without brushes, she has now returned to the studio—soulfully stirred, paint in flow, art back on show
ARTISTS IN BLOOM: LAUNCHING COLLECTIVE 26
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22 May - 7 June 2026
Opening Night 21 May from 6pm
We are pleased to confirm the first exhibition for Collective 26, featuring artists Marta Nicholson, Elizabeth Walker, Mella Kelly, and Eleanor Grana. This exhibition brings together the unique styles and creative perspectives of all four artists.
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