About Caerbladon
Cyanotype workshop with wild meadow flowers in our Sanctuary Garden
Caerbladon was established in February 2022 as a community interest company (CIC) based in Malmesbury, North Wiltshire, serving a wide, mainly rural catchment area of surrounding towns and villages
We are an arts development agency taking a place-based approach, responding to the local context and addressing the needs of various communities, promoting sustainability, understanding of and respect for the unique heritage and character of the area. We believe strongly that celebrating diversity and being accessible to all is the key to a vibrant and inclusive cultural life.
At the heart of Caerbladon’s work is using the arts to connect local communities with regional, national and international work reflecting the diverse influences, experience and stories that make up our contemporary cultural life. Our Pride of Place programmes (2023 and 2025) have been transformational in enhancing the arts and cultural offer and levels of community engagement in the Malmesbury area.
With a changing programme of exhibitions, workshops, projects and events we encourage people of all ages to enjoy art, buy artworks and express themselves creatively.
We play a lead role in commissioning local and international artists to undertake residencies and projects in collaboration with a wide range of organisations including Athelstan Museum, WOMAD, the Abbey, Wiltshire Libraries, the British Council and local authorities. We supply high quality art materials and books at affordable prices to offer inspiration and useful advice on different techniques and approaches. We act as a hub for activities such as artist talks, social get togethers, and walking and sketching tours in the local area.
Our gallery and art space is at 24 High Street, Malmesbury, but we see the whole town and surrounding area as a canvas for Caerbladon exhibitions, events and projects.
In Summer 2024, Malmesbury Town Team commissioned Caerbladon to undertake a research and consultative process to inform a new Cultural Strategy for the Malmesbury area which sets out, champions and supports the role of culture in the town and surrounding area. Our extensive consultation during 2024/25 identified as priorities the need to fill gaps in local provision, to create opportunities for youth engagement, to support community cohesion and to address the climate emergency.
By seeing the whole town as a venue, and through imaginative use of available buildings and public spaces, we have been able to deliver high quality, engaging events and activities. The challenge going forward is to scale-up our model of delivery, build local capacity and nurture emerging talent. Central to our planning is ensuring that there are multiple ladders of opportunity for young people which develop skills and creativity, giving them responsibility to shape programme content and outcomes.
“What’s in a name?
Malmesbury was a pre-Roman “ancient city of the Britons” known as Caer Bladon
Malmesbury is situated atop a steep-sided ridge between the Sherston and Tetbury branches of the Avon, at the point of their confluence just south of the town, their combined courses almost enclosing the site so as to create a peninsula. These natural defences made it the choice for an Iron Age hill-fort which tradition later framed as a thriving British town called Caer Bladon”
About Us
Caerbladon’s founders are David and Karen Drake, Malmesbury residents with over four decades of professional arts experience, working across the UK and internationally.
David Drake is an independent writer and curator. He has curated over 400 exhibitions and published 32 photobooks featuring work from five continents. His latest publication, Philip Jones Griffiths – A Call to Action, is published by Thames & Hudson in early 2027. Latterly, he has focused on photography and contemporary art in the Middle East and North Africa region, curating the RANEEN festival in Muscat, Oman, in 2024, and two editions of the Shifting Sands exhibition in Madrid and Cordoba, Spain, having won the PHotoESPAÑA - Casa Arabe Nur Award in 2023. Between 2019/21 his exhibition The Place I Call Home was presented in eleven venues in seven countries, including London, Cardiff, Derby and Edinburgh in the UK and the six Arab Gulf states. He was Director of Ffotogallery, the national photography agency in Wales, 2009-2022, during which time he led two Creative Europe transcultural projects, European Prospects and A Woman’s Work, the Wales Pavilion at Venice Biennale in 2015, and the Dreamtigers and Imagining the Nation State collaborations with Delhi Photo Festival and Chennai Photo Biennale in India. Between 2013 and 2021 he was Festival Director of five biennial editions of Diffusion: Wales International Festival of Photography.
Karen Drake is a creative, organised and strategic leader with a background in the creative industries and MSc in Civil Society Management. A Fellow of the RSA (FRSA), demonstrating her commitment to cultural leadership, innovation, and the advancement of the arts and heritage sector. She is Deputy Director of Engage, the national association for gallery education. He recent responsibilities have been to develop and implement strategic programmes that support cultural education and public engagement, and lead on project planning for the Engage’s annual conference and Let’s Create Art campaign. Her previous experience includes being Operations Director at Engine Shed, a University of Bristol subsidiary, a high-tech, high-growth business incubator and business networking and events space. Between 2009 and 2013 she was Business Finance Manager and Interim Director at Spike Island Artspace, a leading contemporary art space in Bristol.
About Malmesbury
With its unique history, heritage assets and hilltop setting, Malmesbury is an attractive destination for visitors from far and wide and has a growing number of specialist shops and independent cafes and restaurants. Malmesbury is a gateway to the Cotswolds, an area designated of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the town is strategically well located in terms of its cultural offer for visitors and residents alike. Various festivals and events take place at nearby Charlton Park, and the 12th Century Abbey is a popular heritage attraction. Building on a history of innovation and enterprise, the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology is based on the company’s Malmesbury Campus, established in 1993. The Athelstan Museum is housed within the Town Hall, which also hosts a cinema club, craft fairs and a small-scale exhibition space.
To plan your visit, we recommend the following website https://discovermalmesbury.life/
We are grateful for support from the Arts Council of England, Wiltshire Council, Malmesbury Town Council, the Warden and Freeman of Malmesbury, Jack Lane Charitable Trust and Malmesbury Carnival.
Malmesbury Market Cross and Abbey (c) Robert Peel