h.Art a huge success

Artists, organisers and visitors - voting with their feet and wallets - all agree that this year’s h.Art Herefordshire Art Week was a huge success.

The nine-day festival took place between September 10 – 18 with more than 200 artists taking part.

During the festival the public had access to nearly 100 private studios and workshops where they could watch the artists and craftsmen and women at work.

Evaluation forms completed by participating artists revealed that nearly 15,000 people visited h.Art week 2005, compared with 10,126 last year.

Sales and commissions also showed a huge increase totalling an impressive £67,251 this year, compared with £47,707 from 2004.

Amanda Fitzwilliams, h.Art Co-ordinator, said: “The beauty of h.Art week is that it provides residents and visitors with a fantastic opportunity to view the art that’s produced in this creative county.

“The festival gives people the chance to take a look at artists and craftsmen at work in their studios.

“This is the fourth h.Art week and they just keep getting bigger and better. We want to ensure it keeps improving.

“This year, on top of gathering feedback from the artists, we carried out a visitor survey to find out how we can improve the way we promote the event,” she added.

Those visitors who completed the survey were entered into a prize draw. The lucky winner, Kate Duffett of Breinton, Hereford, received a £50 voucher to spend on a piece of work by a participating artist.

“I love h.Art week, it’s a great chance to nose around and see how the artists put their work together,” said Kate.

“I was delighted when Amanda contacted me and told me I’d won. I intend to spend my voucher on an embroidery workshop with Angie Hughes of Ledbury, I’ve admired her work for quite a while now and can’t wait to pick up some tips from her.”