Full Circle concluded with a celebratory event on Saturday 6th September 2025, VARC’s 25th anniversary. This special collection of artist residencies were self-directed, each lasting an average of two weeks:
- Jenny Purrett with Kasia Parker, Laura Fox, Rachel Welford and Jane Else
- Zoe Childerley with Loz Atkinson
- Chris Suttie
- Dianne Bowell
- Gordon Dalton
- Emma Bennett
- Robbie Coleman & Jo Hodges
- Nicky Coutts
- Bethan Harris with Maura Hawkes
- LEO
- Sam Douglas with Baccara Smart
- Kate Liston with Tess Denman-Cleaver
- Kate Bellis
- Sally Matthews
- Nell Catchpole & Rachel Deakin with Marc Rigelsford
- Megan Randall
- DYAD
- Nigel Morgan
- Jilly Morris with Steve White
- Karen Rann & Susan Grant
- Andrew Burton
- Shane Finan with Tina Taylor, Forestry England
- Małgorzata Dawidek with Esther Huss
- Ingrid Pollard with Dominique Le Gendre
- Emily Ketteringham
- Catriona Gallagher with Alyssa Moxley
- Helen Pailing with Lizzie Kathiravel
- Lucy May Schofield with Fransje Samson and Magic Arm
In 2025, VARC celebrated a remarkable achievement – 25 years of supporting artists and fostering creative activity in rural Northumberland.
The Full Circle programme was the conclusion of VARC as we knew it, as the funding that founder Leo Amery so generously put into the charity was spent. There could well be another part of the VARC story, but to mark the end of this chapter, former artists-in-residence have shaped the final years in Full Circle.
All VARC artists were invited to express their interest in spending time back at Highgreen. Some responded with the idea of finishing a project that they had started during their residency, and others proposed to make completely new artworks or suggested new collaborations. The impossible task of shortlisting from over twenty submissions led to a decision to try and make all the projects happen.
