Pedals, Pencils & Pixels: picturing the South Downs with Jo Burt & Finn Hopson

Join us for an evening celebrating the South Downs, with two Sussex artists who capture better than anyone what these hills mean to off-road cyclists.

Jo Burt – Cartoonist

Jo Burt is the cartoonist famed for creating Mint Sauce – documenting the thoughts and follies of a mountain biking sheep for over 35 years. The backdrop for Mint’s antics – on sunny days as well as rainy ones – is the South Downs, where Jo himself is a frequent sight, moving swiftly over the hills on two wheels.

Finn Hopson – Photographer

Finn Hopson is the Brighton-based photographer whose remarkable landscapes depict the South Downs in a way that uniquely expresses their patterns, rhythms and seasons. Finn explores this terrain by mountain bike and cargo bike, roaming off-road to find the vantage points from which he creates his wonderful images.

For the first time, we’re bringing these two South Downs visionaries together to ask them about the way they see the hills they both call home. In a cosy evening of conversation, we’ll learn more about how Finn and Jo portray the Downs, and how off-road cycling relates to their art.

Hosting the evening is MASON Cycles – a South Downs-based creator of very special handbuilt adventure bicycles in steel, aluminium and titanium. The MASON Barn, in a centuries-old farmyard, will be a fitting venue, overlooking the meanders of the River Adur and the rolling trails that inspire Jo's drawings, Finn's photos, and Dom Mason’s long-distance designs.

There will be a few nibbles and refreshments, including Sussex lager provided by  Long Man Brewery, another Sussex company proud to be working in the South Downs.

Proceeds from the event will go to the South Downs Trust, to help in the important task of maintaining the South Downs Way – looking after everything from hard-working gate closures to the well-worn surface of the trail itself.

Join us for an evening at the MASON Barn. Meet Jo and Finn. Learn about their work. Enjoy a Long Man lager and celebrate the South Downs together.