A FESTIVAL celebrating Reading’s artistic endeavours launches on Friday.
Open For Art is a week of creativity showcasing some of the town’s best artwork, as well as featuring some international contributions.
This is the first time it has been held since the lockdown stage of the covid pandemic, and this year has the theme of Gather.
There will be a programme of exhibitions, workshops and events that aim to inspire visitors to get creative themselves.
Organised by the arts collective jelly, it is hoped the event will foster a sense of community and connection, and provide a platform for emerging and established artists to exhibit their work, encouraging dialogue and collaboration between artists, art lovers, and the wider community.
There will be an art trail running across the town centre, with installations from jelly’s associate artists programme. These will be on display in businesses across the town centre.
A Through Fayre is to be held in three locations: Oxford Road, St Mary’s Butts and the Castle Street Conversation Area. This will be a day of art activities inspired by the High Street Heritage Action Zones in the town centre on Saturday, July 1.
They will give people opportunities to try different artistic techniques and learn new skills in sessions led by John Angerson, Julie Calce, Laura De Moxom, and Kit Yan Chong.
There will also be community collaborations, with a focus on a banner created for WaterFest by pupils at New Town Primary School. The work will be on display at the Jelly studios in the Broad Street Mall.
A Street Art event across the town will be open to young people aged 16 to 25 to use their creativity to take positive actions for the town, including making hand-printed posters and murals to create an exhibition.
And there will be some artist residencies, which will see them work out of the jelly studios in Broad St Mall for six months. They include Sarah Read, who will take part in online sessions from New Zealand, artist Susan Atwill, and print maker NIck Haynes.
Emma Bradbury, Co-Director of Jelly, said: “We are excited to bring back the Open for Art Festival, a celebration of creativity, diversity, and collaboration.
“As one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations, our work is made possible by National Lottery players, so we want to thank the public for their support, this is your space, come and join in.
The festival runs from Friday, June 23, through to Sunday, July 2. For more details, or to discover the full festival programme, log on to: www.jelly.org
The social media hashtag is #OpenForArtRDG
