THE Art in Penallt team has already started work on this year’s art festival in picturesque Penallt.

The event is now in its 6th year and will run from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th September. More than 500 people attended last year and it is hoped that 2016 will be even better.

More than 100 leading local and international artists and makers have showcased their work over the four days of the festival and sales are consistently high. Curator Ann Bradbury is now in the process of sifting applications from potential exhibitors and developing a theme for the fine art show. The deadline for applications this year is April 30th.

Selecting exhibitors is never an easy task and to ensure that each year the show brings in exciting new blood the team normally does not select exhibitors for more than two consecutive years. This makes sometimes for tough choices.

The festival is centred on Capel Pentwyn, an imaginatively converted arts and crafts period church, a small but light building with excellent wall space, which is transformed once a year from a luxury holiday home into an art gallery. Alongside is Babington Meadow, a novel ecological park in the middle of the village, which becomes a further area for display and demonstrations by artists and makers under large marquees. The two adjacent sites complement each other, the chapel being a calm, quiet space full of interesting, original artwork while the Meadow is an animated centre of action and creativity.

The show will open on the evening of Thursday 22nd September with a free drinks reception in Capel Pentwyn where the public can meet the artists. On the Friday there is a special exhibition of students’ work from the Monmouth schools with the proceeds of sales split between the artists and this year’s charity, Bridges Community Centre, Monmouth.

There will also be art courses in Pelham Hall run on the Friday led by local artists and on the Saturday, Humble by Nature will also run a special course. Last year this sold out very quickly so advance booking is essential.

The main exhibition in Capel Pentwyn runs all the way through to Sunday 25th and is open from 10am to 4pm. Demonstrations and further exhibits will be on show in Babington Meadow on both the Saturday and the Sunday and there will be a refreshment terrace serving delicious locally prepared snacks and drinks. Of course the highly regarded Inn at Penallt is just around the corner for those making a day of it.

Art in Penallt is a not for profit organisation whose aim is to organise an annual art festival in the village of Penallt. The festival organisers are all local volunteers and work in partnership with Babington Meadow, a registered charity, and have also developed a close association with Made in Monmouthshire and local secondary schools. The purpose is to stimulate interest and enthusiasm among all age groups in the artistic process of creating a broad range of art and craft.

For more details, visit: www.artinpenallt.org.uk, email [email protected] or visit the group on Facebook.