The Aardvark Blog

H.Art: Contemporary Textiles show opening
31/08/2013

Last year we have many complaints from both visitors and artists that our Herefordshire Art Week textiles show was only open for 9 days, and with so many other exhibitions on they ran out of time to come and see it.

This year we therefore decided to open our show for an extra week before h.Art starts fully, thereby giving more time and hopefully generating some additional sales for the artists. This tactic would seem to have worked because a couple of pieces were sold during hanging day. All of the artists in the show are professionals who earn a living from their work. Many also run courses and workshops, and a significant number are published authors. It is a great pleasure to be associated with artists and crafts people of this quality, and there is no more exciting moment than when the works start to arrive and the packaging is removed. In the case of Ruth Issett's work the colours this year are so powerful that the whole room seemed to light up.

Earning a living as a creative person has rarely been harder than in 2013, and it is a privilege to be able to act as a venue for people to see such great work. Along with the cannon explosions and re-enactments, the flea markets and music evenings, Aardvark has always had a strong commitment to supporting creative people in the area.

If you are likely to be in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Powys or Worcestershire during the next couple of weeks, do try to visit at least one of the h.Art shows on offer. 119 venues will offer open studios, workshops and special exhibitions ( such as our own). For any-one interested in the visual, what could be a bigger treat.