A CREATIVE 'Summer of Art' is on its way to Oswestry with the launch of the town's 2023 creative programme.

The Cultural Consortium has announced an exciting new artist-in-residence program, ART-efact which will see four local artists selected to participate in ART-efact from June 2023 through to September 2023.

The artists will have a unique opportunity to have paid time to work intimately with the collections and archives at Oswestry Town Museum or Oswestry Town Council.

They will work with local people to develop a body of work and ideas that brings alive Oswestry’s history, heritage and culture.

ART-efact will culminate in an iconic group exhibition for the 2023 Heritage Open Days programme, themed “Creativity Unwrapped”.

Neil Peterson, acting chairman of Oswestry Cultural Consortium, said: “We are really thrilled to announce ART-efact, and with the financial support we have secured.

“It will be a key element in our exciting 'Summer of Art' programme, with artists combining with Oswestry’s creatives and communities to find new and fun ways to show and share the town’s fascinating stories.

“We hope that lots of local artists will send in their ideas and look forward to a very creative summer.”

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During the residency, artists will have the opportunity to work in a supportive and collaborative environment with facilitator Holly Maries.

They will also share their work with Qube and Designs in Mind, helping to improve access to Oswestry’s culture and improving community wellbeing.

Artists are expected to work the equivalent of 15 days over the course of the three-month project in return for a fee of £2,835, with an additional material stipend of £500 for a Heritage Open Day Festival exhibition in September 2023.

A spokesman for the project added: “To apply for the ART-efact residency, artists should submit a CV, address, six images of their work, and a cover letter providing details about their practice.

“Why they would like the opportunity to work with Oswestry Town Council archives or the Oswestry Town Museum (specifying which resource you would prefer to work with) and how it will benefit your own development.

“Please also indicate if there is a particular subject matter you would like to research as a part of the residency, e.g. geology, social and industrial, decorative and ceramic, historical/heritage, LGBTQ, military, or a specified other.

“We encourage applications from all communities and creative disciplines.”

Please send applications to artefactoswestry@gmail.com by the end of Sunday, May 7, while applicants must be 18 or over.

The funding for ART-efact has been provided by Arts Council England and Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ).

Search 'artefactoswestry' on social media for more.

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