Angus Festival of Making

First Angus Festival of Making to celebrate the region’s creativity and thriving artist and maker community

• Running from 20 – 28 August the festival is a celebration of making, craft and artisan produce, showcasing fantastic creative talent based in Angus in the North East of Scotland
• Festival goers will have an opportunity to explore the region, enjoy taster sessions in everything from textile printing to stone carving, visit artist and maker studios, see exhibitions and demonstrations and buy local work
• Festival activity taking place in Arbroath, Kirriemuir, Montrose, Forfar, Wellbank, Carnoustie and beyond
  

  Ceramisist Jo Gifford in her studio in Kirriemuir

A new Angus Festival of Making will take place from 20-28 August 2022 to celebrate the wealth of making in Angus with activities planned across the whole region. The programme will offer locals and visitors the opportunity to take part in and experience creative making activities including spinning, weaving, painting, pottery, jewellery, stone carving and sculpture.  Venues include Murton Farm in Forfar, Montrose Playhouse, and Kirriemuir Community Garden as well as individual studios and workspaces.  The Festival will also feature the makers of artisan food and drink in the area, with tastings on offer for a range of produce including chocolate, pies and beer. Festival goers will be able to visit exhibitions, attend demonstrations by makers in their studios, try new creative activity in taster sessions and appreciate first hand the skill and talent of dedicated makers working in the region. There’s activities to suit all ages with a number of dedicated events for families and children as well as craft and food enthusiasts.

The festival is initiated by Angus Creatives, a network of professional creatives living and working in the area and is supported by the Angus Place Partnership, Creative Scotland and Angus Alive. All events are free to attend and a full programme will be released on Saturday 3rd August which will include an online interactive map and guide to festival venues. Visitors are encouraged to consider sustainable ways of travelling such as buses, cycling and walking, which also offers opportunities to enjoy the beautiful Angus countryside.

Festival highlights include:

Telling Tales exhibition – A debut exhibition by Angus Creatives, a new and vibrant group of local artists inspired by the places they live and work. Their work tells the tales of Angus through the shapes, rhythms and colours of the land, sea and sky, the creative materials that are foraged locally, and the history of the people. Artists include; Jeni Reid, Fran Marquis, Carol Sinclair, Shona Barr and Kirsten Ritchie Walker. The Exhibition will run from 29th July until 1st October at Brothock Gallery, Arbroath Library.

The Art Shed, Montrose – A chance to visit illustrator Grisel Miranda’s studio and shop full of magical creations from 16 different Angus local artists. The artist will also host readings of her two illustrated children’s picture books. Visitors can enjoy a tour of the workshop as well as the vegetable patches/polytunnel to encourage sustainable organic living and a chance to explore ‘Chicken Town’, a fun forest space where 22 rehomed hens and 1 cockerel run happily for the rest of their lives.

Wellbank Hall, Wellbank – At Wellbank Hall, celebrated heritage stonecarver David McGovern of Monikie Rock Art will run demonstrations and exhibit his work while local Independent craft brewery Mór Beers will run guided tasting of their beers

Kinnordy House, Kirriemuir – Lynne Hocking, hand weaver and scientist, will be running drop in weaving sessions. There will be the opportunity to have a go at weaving on her tabletop loom with the intention to create a large collaborative piece where everyone visiting the studio can leave their mark.  There will be materials to weave in the studio and visitors can also bring along anything they might want to incorporate into the piece. Cathrine Holtet, ceramicist, will be running wheel throwing demonstrations and will also run a drop in sgraffito tile workshop where you can decorate a tile.  The tiles, when fired, will create a larger wall piece to be mounted in a public place in Kirriemuir.  Work by Lynne, Cathrine and Jo will also be on display and available to buy in the studio.

Astrid Weigel & Adam Geary at Puddledub Cottage – between Forfar and Friockham, artist duo Astrid (textile artist) and Adam (photographer) will give studio tours and there’s an opportunity to see textile printing demonstrations by Astrid who is a textile designer/maker producing a collection of home decorative accessories and wall art, all of which are designed, screen printed and sewn by her in her home studio.

Festival venues include:

The 128 Telephone Box Gallery – a micro contemporary art gallery in Kirriemuir. This not-for-profit space offers opportunities to established international, national and local artists, recent graduates, local community groups and local children. The theme of the box is ‘Connection’. For the Angus Festival of Making founder and artist Dierdre Bennett will run a print workshop with recycled materials to be exhibited in the 128 gallery.

Hospitalfield – Hospitalfield is an arts and heritage organisation in Arbroath founded in 1902. Now a Centre dedicated to contemporary art and ideas, Hospitalfield is a place to work, study, learn, visit and enjoy. For Angus Festival of Making visitors are invited to come spend the day, visit the Garden or Café and the newly installed Eduardo Palozzi Sculpture Rio on loan from the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.

Murton Farm – The Murton Trust is situated on a former quarry near Forfar in Angus and manage a thriving nature reserve, visitor farm and tearoom set in 100 acres. Their mission is to provide a unique environment in which children, young people and adults can learn and develop essential skills for life. For Angus Festival of Making they will run a Murton Makers session for children aged 2 – 12 to make bird feeders and

HAYM – HAYM is a new Homeware and Lifestyle store in Carnoustie founded by former architect Janice Reid. HAYM with a carefully curated selection of products from many local and Scottish independent designers, these are complimented with some well known and sought after brands, beautiful, original and unique pieces have been sourced using a passion for good design. For Angus Festival of Making a dedicated space will showcase the work of Angus Creatives and other makers from the Angus area.

The Montrose Playhouse – The Montrose Playhouse is a prominent, distinctive facility in Angus for social and cultural events which enables audiences and participants to see, experience, learn and create in a safe and welcoming environment. For Angus Festival of Making The Montrose Playhouse will host a range of events including children’s printmaking workshops, illustrator talks, painted glass workshops, pottery demonstration, exhibitions and more.

Co-founder Carol Sinclair of Angus Festival of Making said “We are really excited to launch this new festival.  There is a hidden wealth of creativity in Angus and we’re looking forward to sharing our stories and inspiration.  There will be a whole variety of opportunities to try hands-on making experiences, sample delicious local produce and see behind the scenes to understand the skills and creativity that go into each product.  And of course there will be plenty of opportunities to buy directly from the makers.”

To mark the festival many makers and venues will be offering limited time discounts on their work coinciding with studio visits and events. A full programme will be available to view online at www.angusfestivalofmaking.co.uk . Until then follow @anguscreatives on Instagram for updates.

 

Listings information

Angus Festival of Making

20 – 28 August 2022

Various venues across Angus

www.angusfestivalofmaking.co.uk

 

For further information, image and interview requests please contact Owen O’Leary on 07815992658 or email owen@ohreally.co.uk

View and download hi res images here: https://app.box.com/s/z3z2bf0bso0yszqafu70y8cvarkhk4vz