Our Big Arts Market took place during June 2021 as part of Bucks Art Weeks, allowing local artists and makers to display their goods in a huge marketplace inside our Grade II listed Theatre Space.
Taking place from Saturday 12th June to Sunday 27th June 2021, the Big Arts Market also featured live music in the garden on the Saturdays and was open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Like we did at our Lockdown Art Exhibition, we adhered to COVID safety best practices by arranging for artists to come in at staggered times to prevent overcrowding and to maintain social distancing.
We also required visitors to wear face masks (unless they had exemptions) and to check in at the front desk, with hand sanitiser and cleaning sprays available throughout the site.
During the event, we were able to welcome dozens of local artists as well as hundreds of visitors including VIPs such as High Wycombe mayor Cllr Andrea Baughan, who opened our Cafe Space Gallery as her first official engagement!
In case you’re wondering where she got her stunning dress from, that was hand-made by Juliet Hamilton of The Tired Dressmaker, who was also exhibiting at the event.
The Cafe Space Gallery showcases work by local artists and was curated by our very own Tabitha Gunstone-Pollock. It remains open after the Big Arts Market with a rotating line-up of local art, all of which is for sale with a small commission going to Wycombe Arts Centre.
Over thirty local artists exhibited their work at the event, including:
As well as showcasing the stunning work of dozens of local creators, we were also able to host several live music events to coincide with the exhibition. On our launch day, we had harper and storyteller France Ellul and classical guitarist Dave Cannings, while on Saturday 19th June we teamed up with the Open Micsolate Facebook group for an Open Micsolate takeover.
We’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone involved, from the artists whose works were displayed to the volunteers who made the market happen and the members of the general public who stopped by to show their support.
The Big Arts Market was a huge success and we’re glad to have been able to showcase so many talented artists after a year of lockdowns and isolation. We have many more exhibitions, markets and fairs on the way, including our Christmas Art and Craft Fair on the 20th and 21st November, so keep your eyes peeled on WycombeArtsCentre.com for further updates. We’ll see you soon!
