Colour: A Season of Shades, Tints and Tones
27 September 2025 – 25 January 2026
What is colour? Why does it mean different things in different cultures and times? And how has colour been linked to power, value, and even prejudice?
This autumn, Tullie invites visitors to experience colour as never before in Colour: A Season of Shades, Tints and Tones. Running from 27 September to 25 January, this major touring exhibition and accompanying programme of events explores how colour has shaped art, identity, culture, politics, and perception across centuries and continents.
From the deep blues of religious iconography to the fiery reds of protest, the exhibition reveals how colour is far more than just something we see. It is something we feel, express, celebrate, and sometimes even fear. Packed with vibrant artworks, surprising stories, and interactive displays, the exhibition will challenge visitors to rethink their relationship with colour in all its emotional, symbolic, and sensory dimensions.
The show will feature works by celebrated artists including Wassily Kandinsky, whose woodcut Orientalisches from his synaesthetic album Klänge explores the emotional power of colour and sound; Andy Warhol’s iconic 1967 Marilyn Monroe, a pop art triumph in saturated colourways; Roy Lichtenstein’s shimmering Moonscape (1965), printed on rowlux; and Katsushika Hokusai’s atmospheric landscape Mishima Pass in Kai Province from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
Exclusively for the Tullie leg of the exhibition, the above artworks will be joined by a selection of paintings and a textile from celebrated artist, designer and proponent of bold colour, Kaffe Fassett. In the new year, Fassett will also visit the museum and deliver a talk (details to be announced soon).
The exhibition also includes striking pieces such as Bronze Age gold jewellery from Tullie’s own collection, and showcases how colour appears across nature through examples like the vivid plumage of the ruby-topaz hummingbird. Alongside these are more everyday uses of colour, from cosmetics to Cadbury’s purple; revealing how colour has long held power and meaning in our daily lives. Visitors will also encounter thought-provoking social history objects that explore the complexities of race, skin tone, and identity. These sit alongside modern artistic responses, which reflect on how colour continues to influence both personal experience and shared cultural understanding across time.
A Spectrum of Workshops and Events
Complementing the exhibition is a vibrant season of events, including:
- In Glorious Technicolour, a film-and-talk series celebrating the history of colour in cinema, featuring The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, and more.
- AfroVibe: Colour, Culture & Carnival! on 4 October. A full-day celebration of African and Caribbean creativity with artist Tina Ramos Ekongo, music, crafts, and community energy.
- Workshops and wellbeing sessions, from expressive landscape painting and creative watercolour to sound baths, gelli printing, and life drawing led by Global majority models.
- Diwali Delights on 18–19 October, with joyful Rangoli displays, storytelling, and family-friendly festivities in partnership with Multicultural Cumbria.
Whether you’re captivated by colour theory, inspired by cultural symbolism, or simply want to be surprised by the vast spectrum of shades, Colour promises to be an unmissable experience.
Tickets: Included with Tullie annual pass or day ticket. Under-18s go free.
This exhibition has been created for the Museums and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring (MAGNET), with Art Fund support and supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Tullie, Museum and Art Gallery
Tullie is a museum, gallery and community hub in the heart of Carlisle’s historic quarter. It has been a centre for learning since 1893 when it was opened as the city’s ‘Public Library, Museum and School of Art’.
In April 2025, the museum opened new spaces including new entrance, welcome space, shop, ground-floor Carlisle Gallery and the City Hall Studio. Café Tullie was also refurbished, opening slightly earlier in February. These spaces made up Phase 2 of Project Tullie, a rolling programme of work to transform Tullie over the next 10-15 years.
Phase 2 was made possible with funding by the UK Government, including support from the UK Government’s Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund Further supported with public funding from HM Government administered by Arts Council England. Café refurbishment supported by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Phase 3 of Project Tullie will reveal more of the collections, attract more visitors through new and exciting experiences, and engage more deeply with communities while contributing significantly to the local economy.
Tullie, which has been an independent charitable trust since 2011, is owned by Cumberland Council and managed by Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust. Direct funding from the council alongside funding secured from UK Government has already contributed nearly £4 million towards Project Tullie.
Tullie is the lead partner of Cumbria Museum Consortium, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
Cumberland Council is a unitary council in Cumbria.
They provide all council services previously provided by Allerdale Borough Council, Carlisle City Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council.
Its Cumberland Plan sets out its vision and values.
Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram for updates on services
Arts Council England
Arts Council Englan is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk.
Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.
MAGNET
The Museums and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring (MAGNET) is a network of 12 museums and galleries that have joined resources to share their collections with diverse regional audiences. The network was established in 2020 to deliver a pilot project that culminated in the inaugural exhibition Hair: Untold Stories. In May 2023 MAGNET received funding from Arts Council England and Art Fund to develop three new exhibitions, which are set to open between May and September 2025, and each will tour to between two and four venues.
Art Fund
Art Fund is the UK’s independent charity for art, helping museums and people to share in great art and culture for 120 years. Art Fund raises millions of pounds every year to help the UK’s museums, galleries and historic houses. The charity funds art, enabling the UK’s museums to buy and share exciting works, connect with their communities, and inspire the next generation. It builds audiences with its National Art Pass opening doors to great culture; and it amplifies the museum sector through the world’s largest museum prize, Art Fund Museum of the Year, and creative events that bring the UK’s museums together. Art Fund is people-powered by 135,000 members who buy a National Art Pass, and the donors, trusts and foundations who support the charity.
The National Art Pass provides free or discounted entry to over 400 museums, galleries and historic places, 50% off major exhibitions, and Art Quarterly magazine.
www.artfund.org
