A temporary new addition is coming to Swindon’s Designer Outlet next month.
Swindon Open Studios is marking 20 years since their first community art event in September 2004 by hosting a pop-up gallery at the Rodbourne retail destination from Saturday, February 10, to Sunday, February 18.
The community organisation is run by volunteers supporting local artists and hosts an exhibition in September each year, where artists invite members of the public into their studios, homes, and exhibition spaces to see where and how their art is made.
This new pop-up offers another opportunity to share their work with the public. There will be six artists featured in February’s pop-up. Five painters and a ceramicist, all with a variety of styles to suit all tastes. These artists are Sheryll Fox, Charlotte Abraham, Sholeh Jafari, Helen Savin, Andi Theokle and Mary Thorne.
The exhibition space is located between the Marks and Spencer clothes shop and the Clarks shoe store, in the unit previously occupied by The Calendar Club.
Both events are free for visitors, artists will be at the gallery each day to answer questions about the art on display, and artwork will be available to buy.
Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, art and heritage, Cllr Marina Strinkovsky, helped make this happen by putting the McArthur Glen outlet and Open Studios teams in touch.
She said: “I am thrilled that Swindon Designer Outlet is working together with Swindon Open Studios to bring local art and artists out into this fantastic space where it can be enjoyed by the wider community.
“We have such a breadth and depth of talent in this town and I can't wait for more people to see it! “
Swindon Open Studios committee member and participating artist Sheryll Fox added: “We are very grateful to Swindon Designer Outlet and Marina Strinkovsky for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate the creative artistic talent that Swindon has.
“It’s a fabulous start to our 20-year anniversary and I am very much looking forward to it."
This year’s artists will open their studios over the weekends of September 21/22 and 28/29, 2024.
Any artist wishing to take part should sign up for the newsletter on the homepage of the website for notification of registration which opens in April.
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