Festival of Artists

Despite the cold, wet weather over the May Bank Holiday weekend, spirits were not at all dampened during our Festival of Artists event which was a roaring success and attracted lots of visitors to the Centre.

This was our third year running the event, and the centre was simply swarming with creativity with over 50 artists on display across the site. As well as exhibiting their artwork, the artists provided live demonstrations of their skills covering such a broad cross section of art including painting, drawing, wood turning, stone-carving & textiles, amongst others.

The two new large marquees that were erected at the front of the centre worked really well and enabled us to accommodate even more artists than in previous years.

Another new feature this year was the inaugural Geoff Hollinshead Award. This was presented to Martin Carty (pictured above) who won the award for the best piece of artwork on display. Martin’s beautiful paintings showcased his wonderful talent and his name is the first to go on the Honours Board! However, it is fair to say that the judges’ decision was exceedingly difficult and any of the artists on display would have been worthy winners as the standard of art on view was simply exceptional.

As always, a big thank you for all the hard work put in to organising the event by Kara Strachan of the Art Loft. Last but not least, thank you to all the wonderful artists. We look forward to being inspired by you all again next year!

In the meantime, don’t forget to pop in and visit our on-site artists and picture framers who are here all year round: Eden Gallery, Home of Colours, Kara Strachan – The Art Loft, Lime Sky: Studio & Gallery, & Lion House Art.