Bath Place Arts Festival 2010

Last Thursday those of you who attended Bath Place Arts Festival may have remembered being harassed by me as I doubled up on roles of spectator and promoter handing out fliers and drinking wine simultaneously. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to promote our, then, upcoming show at the Auction House to an audience that was made up of people interested in the arts and I was not disappointed! The weather was sunny which along with the promise of new and contemporary art had led to a really good turn-out down this unique and shopping street in Taunton's town centre.

It was very rewarding to see the enthusiasm and teamwork that all the shops adopted in making this event something unique and different in Taunton. Whilst there are three art galleries in Bath place (Ginger Fig, Crescent Galleries and Makers) it was great to have clothes shops, cafes, Brendon books, Jane Armour Trading and Krackers participate as well to create lots of different venues to view work in. Talking to the shop owners and artists also made this evening very lively and interesting. Highlights for me would be Rebecca Birtwhistle's architectural, Gothic pen and mixed media paintings and Helen Kinghts cardboard and mixed media pieces also in Brendon Books. I was also particularly excited to see some prints by Jeremy Speck in the window of Krackers where I thought the bold style of Speck's prints was placed very well in a comic book shop window, contextually I liked how they worked together. Similarly after being taught by Chris Howe and Tim Martin, I was genuinely excited to see their paintings at the festival as well.

What perhaps made the festival particularly strong was the diversity of work on offer from print making, painting and stone carving there was quite a good mixture of styles. It is very reassuring and hopeful to see events like this happening on my doorstep and I would have thought it must be a positive thing for the town as a whole from a business and a cultural point of view. I know me and my friend, Lucy Beer certainly had a really good time and would like to thank and support events like this one to continue to thrive. I look forward to next year!