Art lovers flock to East Neuk

Art lovers will descend on the East Neuk in their thousands as an internationally-renowned festival opens.

Pittenweem Arts Festival brings around 25,000 visitors to the village each year.

The eight-day event will involve 132 artists and nine galleries and see exhibitions in spaces ranging from living rooms to sheds.

This year’s invited artists are Glen Onwin, Lucy Dunce and Derek Robertson.

Fife-based wildlife artist Derek Robertson’s show Migrations is inspired by his contact with refugees during his travels to paint birds.

There will also be an exhibition by bursary award winner Sophia Pauley, a student of Edinburgh College of Art.

The festival programme also includes a series of music events, art masterclasses, history walks and activities for children.

It opens tomorrow with an open air painting competition, a talk by Dunce about ceramics and a concert by The Bel-Airs.

On Sunday, Onwin will talk about his show The Art of Memory and there will be a history walk at the medieval Pittenweem Priory, storyteller Sheila Kinninmonth will entertain younger visitors.

Events next week will include the festival fossil hunt along the shore and a performance of Romeo and Juliet by The Handlebards, the world’s first cycling theatre company.

The festival began in 1982 and provides a major boost to the local economy.