The Aardvark Blog

Great response to the inaugural South Shropshire Art Week
5/06/2014

Another really good day of sales at our South Shropshire Art Week exhibition. This new event has really managed to establish itself, and we have even had some visitors who are cycling from venue to venue ( no small feat given the number of hills crammed into the South Shropshire area.

Today Jane Keay was in the exhibition, and having previously run a gallery herself, Jane is very good at communicating to visitors. One of the things that gives us most pleasure at Aardvark, is helping to support the creative professionals in the area. Whether it is artists, musicians or writers, we like to think that we are in there helping artistic people to make a living. Reading some of the rather depressing responses to a recent Guardian piece, it is clear that many people are unaware what difference bookshops can make to the cultural life of an area. Aardvark hold more than a dozen events a year, and many other bookshops do similarly ( for example Anna Dreda's wonderful shop in Much Wenlock is the cornerstone for the Wenlock Poetry festival).

I heard recently that many music venues  - even those who receive state subsidies - do not pay young or emerging musicians, saying to them that they should expect to pay for nothing in order to get the exposure. Here in Aardvark we have always paid people who play here, as do all the local independent venues. The Marches are a wonderful place for creative people to live and work, so if you are reading this and don't live here, why not come and visit us.