Lots of developments to write about this Summer! Firstly I am excited to announce that Arts Council England have accepted my application for a DYCP grant, this will mean lots of exciting new opportunities and work to look forwards to….and mostly more time for me to work on learning printmaking and working towards the dream of being a full time artist.
I will be keeping a log of my DYCP progress throughout the year right here, so if you would like to follow my journey please watch this space!
First order of business was this years Lancaster Art Fair which ran at the Storey from 21-27th of July and was a resounding success. A total of 15 artists took part and we had many visitors of all ages from across the area. The interactive aspects of the fair were very well received and our community art wall became a great celebration of colour and creativity, it was lovely to see so many people taking time to create and contribute and just enjoy themselves! The fair felt really inclusive and carried through on one of the founding aims I had for it which was that Art should be for everyone, the atmosphere was very relaxed and there was much positive feedback from the artists taking part and visitors alike.
The Art Fair has its own dedicated Instagram @lancasterartfair , please give it a follow if you are interested in taking part in LAF2024 as I will be using the account to make a call for artists when the time comes.
July also contained a trip to Sheffield, where I have never visited before but was very interested to look around its industrial heritage and great architecture. I got some great shots and lots of new ideas for new work, a couple I couldn’t wait to get started on…take a look below:
I kind of fell in love with Sheffield and can’t wait to go back (not least to explore some of the music history associated with it, some great bands came out of Sheffield). When I do go back I will be armed with a selection of artworks so local galleries beware!
Other developments in July included a move to Luneside Artists Studios, which is Lancaster’s longest running artist studio opening in 1983. This is very good news for my networking plans and also I’m hoping to learn a lot from some knowledgeable people who have been working artists for longer than I’ve been alive! I’m very grateful to them for accepting me and seeing value in my work, same with Arts Council England, feeling very validated this month!