Bridport is now widely regarded as having one of the most vibrant art scenes in the UK. A new generation of artists has been moving to the area since the 60's, leading to a remarkable concentration of creative talent in this beautiful corner of West Dorset.
This coming Bank Holiday weekend sees the start of the annual Bridport Open Studios event, running over a long weekend from Saturday 28 to Monday 30 August
So it's a great excuse to seek out some of the 100 artists taking part in 46 venues across West Dorset.
Bridport Open Studios (or BOS as it's known) was started by artist Caroline Ireland in 1999 and grew out of her desire to share the growing art scene with a wider public. The BOS event is now run by a small team of dedicated volunteers, with artist Philomena Harmsworth taking over as Director this year.
It's always enlightening to visit artists in their studios and discover some of the most innovative and accomplished art being made in the UK. There's also a refreshing mix of emerging and established talent, with many award-winning artists, including painters, illustrators, sculptors, furniture makers, potters, textile artists and photographers.
The event also provides a great excuse to explore several new Art Trails, heading west from Bridport towards Broadwindsor, Beaminster and Powerstock, east towards Eggardon Hill, Wynford Eagle and the Bride Valley, west across the Marshwood Vale, and south along the Jurassic Coast from Charmouth to West Bay and Abbotsbury.
One of the biggest venues is the St Michael's Studio complex, where 25 artists work across the top two floors of a magnificent old warehouse on a historic rope-making estate – now known as Bridport's Artistic Quarter. Artist Kit Glaisyer started the studios in 1999 and is known for his dramatic large-scale landscape paintings of the Marshwood Vale. There's also award winning illustrator Paul Blow who regularly shows in the Guardian, and Ian Dunn, who's large abstract paintings are featured on the BOS Catalogue cover.
Other artists taking part include Carolyne Kardia and Julia Hutton, two artists from the Royal College of Art, as is David Brooke, past president of the Society of Graphic Fine Art, plus figurative painters Andrew Leppard, John Rabbetts, Annalisa Renee and David Risk Kennard. Also visit the beautiful Sladers Yard gallery in West Bay, showing the four-artist "Voyages" exhibition, including David Worthington, one-time assistant to sculptor Anish Kapoor.
To find out more about the event download a free Catalogue from bridportopenstudios.co.uk or pick one up from the Bridport Tourist Office, Bridport Arts Centre or St Michael's Studios.
The Launch Night of the BOS event will be held at the Bull Hotel on Thursday 28 August, 6-9pm, and everyone is invited to join the artists for festivities at this lovingly restored 16th century coaching inn, oozing eclectic style and contemporary rustic charm. Bridport Open Studios runs from Sat 28 to Mon 30 August 2010.
To find out more about the Bridport art scene visit www.bridport.org or pick up a copy of "Portrait of the Artist", a recently published book on 25 local artists by Kit Glaisyer, with photographs by George Wright and narratives by Lu Orza, available from all good book shops and online at www.portraitoftheartist.co.uk
