Exhibition of Art and Photography ''Blame Austen Clark if you want,'' said John Crane, Vice Chair of Saline & Steelend Community Council. Over a can of beer Austen Clark casually mentioned that the Dunfermline Art Club were getting new display boards. ''What will they do with the old ones?'' asked John - and the answer to that simple and innocent question gave birth to the West Fife Villages Exhibition of Art and Photography ... now in its fifth annual run. The display boards were in very reasonable condition requiring only a fresh coat of paint - thanks to the generousity of Dunfermline Art Club. And luckily there was sufficient space to store them along with the Horticultural Society’s furniture. That was in the autumn of 2005. Last year, West Fife Villages Exhibition of Art and Photography - organised and hosted by the village of Saline - attracted over 400 visitors ... ''Many of the 400 visitors had never ventured into an art gallery in their lives'' said the exhibition manager, John Crain. Alongside the artists, photographers and craft makers, eight of the ten primary schools located in the West Fife villages participated in the exhibition - contributing over 300 exhibits last year, and each pupil received a personal 'Certificate of Merit'. All ten primary schools in the West Fife villages will participate in the event this May. The 2010 West Fife Villages Exhibition of Art and Photography will take place over the weekend of the 8th and 9th May. The main art and photographic exhibition will be held in the Saline Community Centre whilst the nearby church hall will exhibit specialist photographic collections from Blairhall’s Andy Young and Saline’s Bill Wilson. The exhibition will be from 10 am till 4.30 pm on each day - but the Church hall will not open until 12 noon on the Sunday. As a change from previous years the crafts exhibition will consist of a series of demonstrations undertaken by 'Daft For Crafts' - a local crafts club. Additionally an exhibition of ceramics will be provided by 'Club 8 Potters.' John Crain adds... A depth of enthusiasm and interest in the proposed event was more than evident, following a few phone calls and talks with some well-known Saline artists. Among them in particular, were Marylla Ferguson, who has a studio in the village, and Derek Robertson, the well-known wildlife artist from Bandrum. Word quickly spread, and soon artists and photographers from other West Fife villages were asking if they could exhibit their work at Saline ... and so begane the West Fife Villages Exhibition. This is now truly a whole community affair. A combined effort by the Saline & Steelend Community Council and the Saline & District Horticultural Society - with the local WRI and the Church Guild providing valued support with refreshments. It seemed that one way or another, everyone in the village gets involved. We also enjoy excellent support from the West Fife Villages Community Planning Group, the West Fife Villages Community Forum, and Fife Council. As far as organisation of the main exhibition of art and photography is concerned, we maintain an 'open-door' policy and keep all arrangements with exhibitors as simple as possible... We do not ask exhibitors to complete application forms for submission of exhibits - artists are invited to bring along their work on the Friday prior to the weekend exhibition. Free is the word... There is no limit to the number of exhibits artist can submit; no hanging charges or commission on sales - and admission to the public is FREE. We do, however, accept donations and last year these donations amounted to about £400 that adequately covered our expenses. Admittedly this is an anarchic way of running an exhibition but it has worked for the last 4 years and we haven't quite got to the stage of hanging exhibits from the ceiling. The objectives were somewhat nebulous when we conceived the project. They are now more or less solidified, as...
Exhibition Manager West Fife Villages Exhibition of Art and Photography Tel: 01383 852 698 Top | Features | Exhibitions | Home # wfv10ex |
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