Cheltenham Art
Art in the Park 2011
42nd Open Air Art Exhibition
A panoramic view of the 2010 exhibition, week 1 © Andy Lloyd
This weekend marks the start of our
annual month-long art exhibition in Imperial Gardens, Cheltenham. This is our
42nd year. Some essential work to the pavement next to the Imperial Gardens is
also currently taking place, along the Promenade leading up to the Queen Hotel.
Despite the work, our exhibition is going on as usual, and we would like to
invite art lovers from around the county to visit our festival of art.
Traditionally known as the Cheltenham Open Air Art Exhibition, we are currently
in the process of re-branding the event, to reflect the more diverse portfolio
of work on show. The Imperial Gardens offers us the perfect setting for an
outdoor art exhibition - it is very accessible from the town centre, the formal
gardens provide a beautiful backdrop, and the lawn area by the exhibition
itself, with its bar, offers an informal meeting place for people to relax in.
Most of all, the exhibition itself oozes with local talent, from traditional
fine art watercolours to bright contemporary modern art.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXOlpcD6SQs
'Art in the Park' starts on Saturday 18th June at 10am. It runs for 4 weeks,
until Sunday 17th July, with different artists exhibiting their work each week.
The format of the event allows the art on offer to be highly affordable, a
necessity during these straightened times! The event is organised and run by
the artists themselves, and admission to the public is free. We are open from
10am to 8pm daily.
There will be four separate one week exhibitions to run consecutively. The dates will be as follows:
WEEK 1 Saturday 18th June to Sat 25th June inclusive (8 days)
WEEK 2 Sunday 26th June to Saturday 2nd July inclusive (7 days)
WEEK 3 Sunday 3rd July to Saturday 9th July inclusive (7 days)
WEEK 4 Sunday 10th July to Sunday 17th July inclusive (8 days)
Our thanks go to our sponsors - Midwinters Solicitors and Willans Solicitors for their continuing support. A big thanks also to Regent Arcade in Cheltenham for providing us with a shop window to showcase our exhibition. Here's a selection of the many local media web-pages where we're listed, with many thanks to all concerned:
http://www.soglos.com/art-culture/29071/Cheltenham-Open-Air-Art-Exhibition
http://www.cheltenham4u.co.uk/events_art.asp
http://www.artevent.co.uk/Artevent,%20News_zone.htm
http://events.eveshamjournal.co.uk/events/disp.asp?i=368680
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=12
About the Exhibition
The Cotswolds town of Cheltenham Spa is well known for its annual Festival, which incorporates Literature, Music and the Arts, as well as an acclaimed Science Festival. The Open Air Art Exhibition is an additional attraction in the town during the festival and has been running each year since 1969. It showcases the art of over 100 locals painters over a 4 week period, and is organised by an Exhibition Committee of eleven artists. The Committee is voluntary and exists only to organise the Cheltenham Open Air Art Exhibition.
The Exhibition is open to all local artists and is not based upon the individual merit of the artwork: Application forms are sent out in mid-March to artists who have exhibited recently or who expressed an interest in participating. The available screens are then allocated to applicants on a first come, first served basis. The work exhibited covers a spectrum of talent, incorporating professional artists and relative beginners alike. This format is very popular with the artists themselves, and the event is always over-subscribed.
The event is also very popular
with the people of Cheltenham. It provides a colourful annual pageant of
original artwork, and offers the potential for real bargains: the commission
charged by the event is small compared with that charged by Galleries (who
have far higher overheads), and this is reflected in the prices of the artwork
on offer.
Typically you can expect to pay half the price you would be charged in a gallery!
Saying that, staging this event is becoming an increasingly expensive activity. The cost of the mandatory public liability insurance has followed the general trend in insurance premiums over the last few years; rapid escalation. The scaffolding is also expensive. The event is funded by fees paid by the artists themselves, and the levies taken from the sale of their paintings, which are currently 10%.
In effect, the Exhibition is reliant upon the commercial success of its exhibiting artists to maintain itself each year.
The economics of the event is thus market-led and driven by the art-lovers of Cheltenham and its environs. We owe them a debt of thanks for their support down the years, and hope to continue to offer them excellent quality and value for years to come.
