Different canvass for Art in the Open festival
Wexford’s Art in the Open painting festival will go ahead in a different format this year under the name ‘A Month of Sundays.’
Due to Covid-19 guidelines, it will not be possible to hold intimate workshops, talks and exhibitions indoors, so the organisers have altered the structure to include four outdoor paint-outs in Wexford , Kilkenny city, Dunmore East and Enniskerry, County Wicklow over four weekends.
The Wexford event will take place in Wexford town on Sunday and Monday, August 2 and 3 of the bank holiday weekend, with painting during the day and an onthe-easel exhibition at Crescent Quay each evening, when judging of the day’s work will take place and prizes will be awarded.
Members of the public will have the opportunity to purchase paintings that have been completed by the participating artists.
More than 50 artists have already registered for the event, including a few people from abroad.
The acclaimed artist Blaise Smith, from Kilkenny, who painted a portrait of the late art historian Mairead Furlong of Drinagh, Wexford, which hangs in Wexford County Council headquarters in Carriglawn, will give an workshop at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 2 at an outdoor Wexford town location to be confirmed.
The Kilkenny paint-out will take place on Sunday, August 9, followed by Dunmore East in county Waterford on Sunday, August 16 and Enniskerry on Sunday, August 23, with outdoor judging and exhibitons also taking place in these venues.
There will be a prize fund of €400 at each location.
The paint-outs are open to everyone, with a registration fee of €40 for the five plein air events and €20 for one. Register at www.artintheopen.org.
A spokeswoman for the international festival said the changed format is an attempt by the organisers to keep the international brand of Wexford’s Art in the Open - Europe’s largest plein air festival -alive in a challenging year.
‘We have made some changes in order to run our popular festival this summer as our original plans have been severely compromised by the recommendations around social distancing’, she said.
‘We would like people to know that Art in the Open is alive and well and going ahead in a restructured format’. Artists will have to travel independently to the paint-out locations and the organisers are hoping to arrange one outdoor social evening.