Stroud Site07 art festival

Throughout June – The 11th annual Site07 art festival is brimming with events, exhibitions and open studios, showing-off Stroud’s vibrant art scene more than ever before.

With ten years of experience under its belt, the Site07 art festival looks set to be the biggest and best the county has ever seen – showing-off the work of more than 250 local, national and international artists and packed with exhibitions, site based works, screenings, open studios, talks, workshops and walking tours. This year’s festival plays host to a heady range of work, from modern and experimental to fine examples of traditional work.

With so much to see and do there really is something for art lovers of all guises, the only problem is trying to fit it all in. Our highlights of Site07 hope to give you a brief heads up, but for more information please see the SVA's website.

SVA Exhibition

During June, Stroud Valleys Artspace will be hosting a month-long exhibition from resident and visiting artists. These include audio-visual installations, mixed media paintings, modern sculptures as well as sumptuous textiles. There will also be an ongoing programme of events from artists, performers, musicians and poets – including Arabic music and song from North Africa, dramatic performance pieces and interactive art installations.

Open Studios

Over two weekends, a collection of 86 artists across 47 sites around Stroud will be opening up their homes and studios to art lovers on the 9 to 10 of June and 16 to 17 June. Visitors can not only see firsthand how the work is produced with artists on-hand to answer questions, but if a piece catches your eye you can purchase it directly.

The sheer diversity of artists’ work on display demonstrates exactly what a hotbed of talent is hosted in the local areas. So whether you want to see stunning photography, hand thrown pottery, detailed etchings, quirky ceramics, vivid pastels or exotic watercolours, it is all on display at one of the open studios. There is also ornate jewellery, imposing sculptures, acrylic landscapes and hand-woven textiles, not to mention intimate portraits, hand bound books and willow-woven baskets.

You can climb aboard the festival’s artbus and be given a guided tour as you are driven between the open studios or, if you’re feeling more energetic, you can also take part in the weekend artwalks touring Stroud, Nailsworth, Painswick and the Golden Valley.

There are six routes spanning Stroud and the surrounding areas, which have been devised to take-in all of the open studios. A map featuring all of the locations is available on the SVA's website, which also gives you a brief description of the artists work and specific opening times.

Other events

From 1 to 30 June, The Museum in the Park in Stroud will be hosting this year’s Darbyshire Award exhibition including shortlisted entries from artists including Aimee Lax, Angelo Picozzi, Colin Glen, Oliver Marsden, Cleo Mussi, Katrina Horne, Reinhild Beuther, Rosa Davis, Amanda Lorens, Kerry Phippen, Sue Rae, Tim Shore, Sean Taylor.

From 1 to 21 June, Ruskin Mill will be hosting the exhibition ‘Somewhere not here’, which includes drawing from talented local artists whose work is rarely exhibited.

On Sunday 10 and Sunday 24 June, prolific poet and performer John Hegley will be holding poetry workshops and live music performances at Stroud Valleys Artspace.

On Saturday 16 June, local art collective Walking the Land will be exploring the connection between the textile industry and the landscape in their day entitled ‘Racking Fields’. There is a packed-schedule of walking tours, workshops and talks to get involved with at Rodborough Fields and Community Hall.

From 19 to 20 June, The Space will host ‘OutsideSpace’ which will include landscape exhibits from more than 20 local artists

From Friday 22 to Saturday 23 June, ‘Place Memory’ will be held at Stroud Valleys Artspace. This two-part event includes video screenings, film projections and performance art accompanied by live music from internationally recognised film-makers and artists from Stroud and the South West.

Event: Site07 art festival
Venue: There are more than 88 venues across the Stroud Valley
Date: Throughout June 2007
Times: Vary for each individual event
Tickets: Individual events and exhibitions are priced accordingly, many are free and some may require advance booking. Please see SVA for more information.

Michelle Byrne