Ambleside & District Art Society (ADAS) celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2024 with an art trail, an exhibition showing 50 years of artwork by members and a celebration party. In addition, it was decided that a longer lasting commemorative artwork should be created to mark this special milestone forever. After considerable debate amongst the members, it was decided to produce a collaborative artwork which would symbolise the art produced by the society and its link to Ambleside and the wider Lake District.
The resulting artwork is made up of 72 individual paintings by 31 different artists. Each artist was given complete freedom to paint any scene, style and medium. The only restriction was that every painting should be a celebration of life in and around Ambleside and it should be on the same size square support.
With great care, and many hours of shuffling, the paintings were then rearranged into one artwork where the famous Ambleside Bridge House appears from the mosaic. The painting is now on permanent loan to Ambleside Health Centre, where it sits in the waiting room so that the whole community and visitors can enjoy it forever.