Herts Visual Arts and South Mill Arts announce Big Makers Fair

A spectacular exhibition of art and design is being shown at South Mill Arts centre in Bishop’s Stortford at the end of February 2023. Artists from across Hertfordshire will show work in three dimensions celebrating form, scale and texture.

The Big Makers Fair, where you can view and buy work direct from the artist, will be on Saturday 25 February 10.00 to 17.00 and Sunday 26 February, 10.00 to 16.00.

The Big Makers Fair will open up a treasure chest of contemporary creativity, revealing the artist as maker of beautiful objects. It will include sculpture, pieces made with ceramic or glass, imaginative textile work, jewellery and furniture. It will reveal how artists use a range of techniques to transform material and realise their vision for beauty.

Herts Visual Arts (HVA) is the only county-wide visual arts organisation for Hertfordshire. Embracing all visual arts, full and part-time artists, HVA is run by an enthusiastic voluntary organising group. The Big Makers Fair is the first of a programme for 2023 that will include the annual Big Art Fair and the Open Studios event in September.

HVA Chair Sally Taylor said, ‘we are excited to mount our first Big Makers Fair, after waiting through the pandemic for a chance to organise an exhibition. HVA has a wealth of artists working in three dimensions, and visitors can expect visual surprise and delight in textiles, silverwork, wood, glass and stone.’

For South Mill Arts, this show marks a new venture, as they look forward to more visual art in the coming months. Operations director Paula Holland said ‘we have wanted to have visual arts events at South Mill Arts to complement our extensive performing arts activities, and we are delighted to show the art of making in our large auditorium space. We look forward to more visual art activity in our arts space and in the museum and have a small advisory group looking at future exhibiting opportunities.’

Big Makers Fair is taking place on the 25th and 26th February at South Mill Arts and is free to attend. For more information, please see www.southmillarts.co.uk

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About
As the largest volunteer-run arts organisation in the county, HVA has over 300 individual Members. All are Hertfordshire based artists and makers working in a wide range of artistic disciplines. Our annual program includes various events for our Members to meet, to exhibit or to sell their work. The highlight is Herts Open Studios in September/October when Members open up their workplaces to visitors, or collaborate in pop-up galleries and shops. We also have permanent exhibitions in various business premises – currently in Stevenage, Hatfield and Potters Bar.

HVA offers support and advice to its Members through training and networking sessions. As well as area groups, there is a well-established group of Textile artists, and our newly formed 3D Makers group.

Annual membership is currently just £45 per year, with senior concessions available. Benefits include a Gallery on the HVA Website, social media promotion across HVA platforms, a PRIVATE Facebook group to connect with other members, and monthly Newsletters which include news, opportunities, hints, tips, articles and more. Non-members can also sign up for our Newsletters.

Our new printed quarterly magazine is distributed to Members, available to read or download online and is available at various public venues.

Some key dates are:
• 16th January 2023: Members Conference: https://www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/members-conference
• 25th – 26th February: Big Makers Fair: https://www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/big-makers-fair
● 23rd – 25th June 2023: Big Art Fair: https://www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/big-art-fair
● 9th September – 1st October 2022: Herts Open Studios: https://www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/herts-open-studios

The easiest way to join HVA is online: www.hvaf.org.uk
Twitter: @HVAF
Instagram: @HertsVisualArts
Facebook: @HertsVisualArts
Linkedin: @herts-visual-arts
Press contact: marketing@hvaf.org.uk
Press Release by marketing: enquiries@hvaf.org.uk

For more information visit https://www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/big-makers-fair