Art week comes to Shropshire Hills
After meeting at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre for ten years, Shropshire artists are about to have their first full Art Week at the venue.
The tourist attraction in Craven Arms has its own gallery which regularly displays the work of local artists.
During the first week of June the work of 40 of them will be brought together, along with a trail around the artists' studios.
The nine-day long art extravaganza will be taking place from May 31 to June 8 at the Discovery Centre's Art Café, open from 10am until 5pm each day except for Monday June 2, with free admission.
Participating artists include painters, sculptors, printmakers, textile artists, photographers and illustrators.
The Secret Hills Art Café Group has been meeting at the Discovery Centre in Craven Arms since 2004, one of a number of groups taking part in the Shropshire Hills Art Week (SHAW).
Lesley McKnight, Art Café Co-ordinator, said: "the Art Café artists are delighted to be part of the first SHAW art trail.
"We see it as an important showcase for the wealth of creative talent in this part of Shropshire, which has tended to be overlooked".
SHAW Director, Jules McRobbie, said that she hoped that Shropshire Hills Art Week's focus on landscape and wildlife would encourage visitors to really look at their surroundings as they go around the venues and talk to artists.
"This is a glorious area, with many unique landscapes providing a constant inspiration to the artists who live and work here. The many different media used, and the variety and breadth of artwork you will see during the week, reflects this."
One of the artists taking part, Onibury-based painter Elizabeth Moss, said: "Having recently moved here from Aberdeenshire where I exhibited with the North East Open Studios for several years, I am now delighted to be involved with the Shropshire Hills Art Week which I hope will be the first of many Open Studio events in the area," she said.
Others participating in the event, include Ludlow artist Susie Church (open studio by appointment), and joint exhibitions at Footprints and Hearts in Ludlow and Aardvark Books in Brampton Bryan.
For more information visit www.shropshirehillsartweek.co.uk where you can download an arts trail leaflet.
