"AFTER a tremendous amount of preparation work and planning by the staff, Abbot Hall had a very successful year at the start of the new Millennium," enthuses its director and guardian Edward King.

Positive speaking from the man behind the popular Kendal art gallery, who claims that its main exhibition in summer, Ruskin and the Light of Nature, celebrating the centenary of Ruskin's death, brought together probably the most important group of paintings ever assembled in Cumbria: "This was part of our partnership with the Tate, which drew large numbers of visitors to Kendal."

It was definitely a memorable year for Abbot Hall Art Gallery.

An impressive appearance on The Works television programme gained it many friends, including a gushing Anthony Wilson, plus crowd-pullers such as the Conrad Atkinson exhibition, a local artist whose gained international recognition, and is now working in California.

It was an exhibition, says Edward, "that again reinforced the gallery's reputation as one of the most important venues for contemporary art outside London."

This year promises to be even more momentous with exciting things happening both in Kendal and just down the road at Blackwell, its Arts and Crafts house overlooking Windermere.

In the middle of restoration, it should open its doors to the public in July.

Edward adds: "Blackwell is one of the finest examples of arts and crafts architecture in the county, built in a stunning position and still in a superb state of preservation.

This promises to be a real treat for people to visit, and we have lined up two wonderful exhibitions for its opening year, showing work of international importance.

"The first is the work of Magdalene Odundo, an exquisite artist, originally from Kenya, who works in both ceramics and bronze.

Her beautiful creations combine the arts of both potter and sculptor, with strong echoes of Africa and its calm spirituality.

"It will be followed in autumn with a major show of craftwork from Japan, a country with strong traditions in crafts, whose makers still produce some of the finest work in the world.

Both contemporary and historical work will be included and, to coincide with the exhibition, an important seminar will be staged, bringing key artists from Japan to talk about their craft and the part it plays in the life of the country."

Another King masterstroke is a major exhibition from one of Britain's most important figurative artists, Paula Rego, an artist with an established reputation, but attracting even greater interest from critics both here and abroad.

She's gained bags of acclaim for a triptych shown at the National Gallery, and had a prominent place in a show of British artists in the States, alongside such figures as Lucian Freud and David Hockney.

She returns to Abbot Hall after a small show last February.

Her new exhibition is a UK exclusive for the Kendal art gallery before the Lisbon-born artist's works tour abroad.

Abbot Hall opens again in February with an exhibition of stunning photographs by Andy Goldsworthy, together with a display of new loans including work by Bridget Riley, Lucian Freud, and a 17th Century painting of the Countess of Cumberland.