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hanging piece in the gallery

Artists take on plastic pellet pollution in new Quay Arts exhibition

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Saturday saw the opening of the latest exhibition in the Clayden Gallery at Quay Arts Centre in Newport.

The Great Nurdles Exhibition is open daily between 9am-4pm until 10th October 2026.

Organised by Planet Aware, The Great Nurdles Exhibition was created to shine a light on one of the ocean’s lesser-known but widespread pollutants: nurdles.

Artists responses
The exhibition includes works by mostly local artists, but also national and international artists, who were invited to respond to the environmental impact of nurdle pollution.

The aim is to raise awareness of the effects of nurdles on our planet, ocean and communities following both chronic and acute spills.

What are Nurdles?
If you are unfamiliar with what nurdles are, they are small plastic pellets which are shipped all over the world to create our everyday plastic goods.

Sadly, due to lack of proper procedures and legislation, these pellets are lost to the natural environment causing great harm to wildlife and to humans through the food chain.

The spills off the East coast of the UK and more recently in the Port of Tyne make the call for legislation in managing nurdles even more urgent.

Where and when
The exhibition is open daily from 9am-4pm until Saturday 10th October 2026.

Quay Arts can be found at 15 Sea Street, Newport PO30 5BD. Entry is free.