Are you an artist? Then sign up for a major new art fair coming to Kendal in summer (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Are you an artist? Then sign up for a major new art fair coming to Kendal in summer

9:51am Friday 1st March 2013 in News By Hannah Upton

Rosie Wates and Tina Balmer

A CALL has gone out for artists to sign up for a major new art fair coming to Kendal this summer.

ArtFest North will be held in Kendal Town Hall from July 26 to 28, with organisers hoping to establish it as an annual event for the area.

It will serve as a showcase for artists not only from the local area, but much further afield.

Rosie Wates, one of the team heading up the fair, said there was a gap in the arts scene in the area – and ArtFest North was going to fill it.

“We want to select from the best artists in the region and beyond – we’ve already had applications from as far away as the south coast,” she said.

She said inspiration for the event came from two annual fairs which had drawn artists and the general public alike to the county over many years; PotFest in Penrith for ceramic artists, and PrintFest in Ulverston which promotes printmakers.

Rosie and two other prominent local artists, Tina Balmer and Jo Lavington, said they wanted to create something for artists who work with other materials, and the idea of ArtFest North was born.

“Tina and I are painters,” Rosie said. “We felt it was a shame there was no event in this part of the world where we could showcase our work. And the same goes for people who work in all sorts of different media and disciplines.”

“We’re looking for painters, sculptors, jewellers,” said Tina. “It doesn’t matter what medium you work in. We’re hoping that people will come and see, enjoy and buy work of the highest quality that is varied and, of course, exciting.

“We’ll see how it goes but ideally we want to make this an annual event. The Town Hall is a great venue, with a really special atmosphere. and as we’ll be in the middle of the tourist season, we’re looking to draw in plenty of visitors.”

Information on how artists can apply can be found at www.artfestnorth.artweb.com