Pittenweem set to open its doors for arts festival

More than 120 artists will be showcasing their work at the Pittenweem Arts Festival, which begins on Saturday and finishes on August 12.

The festival continues to grow year-on-year, with around 25,000 people attending visiting last year, seeing all the different kinds of art on show, from traditional paintings to sculptures.

Highlighting the mixture of forms of art on show at the festival, is the three invited artists.

Glen Onwin brings together his interests in science and the natural world in his art; Lucy Dunce will be showing off her new body of ceramics, which has been four years in the making and is a departure from her previous work; and wildlife artist David Robertson will be showcasing his paintings on the theme of migrations.

Another artist whose work, inspired by her love of swimming and water sports, will be on show this year is Sophia Pauley, winner of the bursary award.

Explaining why Sophia won the award, Pittenweem Arts Festival office manager Jess White said: “Her work is of such high quality that the judges decided her work was the most developed for her young age, and that she would benefit most from the award.”

The exhibitions by the invited artists and Sophia are just some of the new elements to this year’s festival.

There will be numerous events and competitions taking place throughout Pittenweem over the course of the festival, giving visitors a chance to get hands on.

Artists will be giving talks on their works, tours will explain the history of the village, master classes will give visitors the chance to hone their artistic skills, and various musical performances, from jazz to rock, will add some sound to the festival.

The size of the festival is a world away from the small event it was when first organised by local artists in 1982.

Now thousands of visitors come to Pittenweem to take in the arts destival and the events.

And while Pittenweem Arts Festival remains arguably the biggest in the Kingdom, other events, such as East Neuk Open Studios have seen the area become a cultural hotspot.

“People in St Andrews refer to the East Neuk as the Costa del Fife, and I think it is a really attractive place for artists, because it’s so beautiful,” Jess said.

She added: “It’s a really good year for the festival as well. The tickets are selling really well.

“We’ve now had around 25,000 visitors for the last few years.

“It started off quite small with just a few artists opening up their front doors.

“Now there are more than 100 venues and artists.

“And the invited artists are of international acclaim, so it really is amazing how it’s grown.”

For more information about the festival and the events taking place, or to purchase a brochure, which includes a list of the venues, visit www.pittenweemartsfestival.co.uk.