Hops vs. Art
Noble and Common, Worcester
Opening : Wednesday 24th Sept
ember 2025
-} refreshments served courstesy of Company Drinks
available by appointment -} sales@nobleandcommon.com
24.09.25 - 10.11.25
Artists: Angelina May Davis, Elisha Enfield, Lewis Graham, Chris Shaw Hughes, Isaac Jordan, Ispahani Mukah, John Timberlake. Supported by Company Drinks
The Hop Market in Worcester, where our gallery now stands, was historically a site of lively commerce, where farmers, traders, and brewers met to exchange one of the region’s most valuable crops. This exhibition draws a parallel between that history and the contemporary art market, asking: what kinds of value are exchanged in both?
At first glance, the hop market and the art market might seem unrelated, one rooted in agriculture, the other in culture and commerce. But look closer, and shared qualities begin to emerge. Both are spaces of negotiation and trust. In the hop market, value was determined through handshakes and expert knowledge; in the art world, worth is just as fluid, debated, perceived, and deeply personal. Both markets honour unseen labour. Hops are cultivated, harvested, and dried through seasonal cycles of care, while artworks are researched, wrestled with, and revised, often over months or years. What appears for sale is only the surface of a much longer process.
These markets are also inherently social. Where farmers, brewers, and traders once gathered to talk and trade, artists, collectors, and audiences now meet in conversation and exchange. Both reflect something deeper about local identity. Hops once defined Worcester’s economy and its outward-facing character; today, art continues to explore and challenge how we see this place, and ourselves within it.
And perhaps most fundamentally, both markets are about transformation. Hops become beer. Ideas become artworks. Materials are turned into meaning. In each case, value, in all its forms, is brewed or painted, drawn, shaped, and shared.
At Noble and Common, we open our doors with this inaugural exhibition, Hops (Market) Vs. Art (Market ) a celebration of shared histories, marketplaces, and cultural exchange.
