Art Walks take place in Seattle and LA over in the States and- since 2008- our very own Wakefield! There were 15 venues open around the city between 5pm and 9pm. I got round 7 of them (had I not been totally exhausted I would have stayed longer and gone to more).
I started at off at The Hepworth Gallery. I first visited the Hepworth this time last year and found it to be a beautiful space, so it was great to go back and have another look around.
The Hepworth is free to visit and was created especially to house some of Barbara Hepworth's works and tools. It is the largest purpose built exhibition centre outside of London, proclaims the website. It's certainly a great place to visit- parking nearby, easy to get to and well signposted, big spacious shop and reception area, swish plentiful toilets and the gallery spaces are spacious, high and light- perfection. And all perched next to a river. There are also stunning views out on to the river from within The Hepworth.
On this visit I took a look at the permanent exhibits again (I looooove Barbara Hepworth's work) but also the Richard Long exhibit, two pieces of which are pictured below-
My favourite Barbara Hepworth piece on display in The Hepworth- the model for the sculpture that flanks the John Lewis flagship store on Oxford Road.
After The Hepworth, I next visited The Orangery. A gorgeous little building with a graveyard in its grounds, where their Art Walk event linked in with the Wakefield Literary Festival. I availed myself of a free book and took a look at the 'word' focused art works on display (all very good and thought provoking), then swiftly moved on.
Next I popped in to the Art House and saw an artist painting with his mouth- and chatting to other visitors at the same time! How amazingly talented to paint such beautiful pictures with only his mouth, its certainly not something I think I could manage!
Then I stopped by the Theatre Royal Wakefield Cafe and viewed the photography work of a local school- some of which was excellent and very professional looking.
After that I visited the Westgate Studios and had a good nosey around the various artists studios in there. I thought the stuff on show in the Westgate Studios was particularly good.
All the artists works featured in the PeepArt room were amazing! I loved it all and feel so inspired now. And I also swung by the studio space of my friend Helen Fields on the second floor (no photo I'm afraid- I was too shy to ask if I could take one- most unlike me!).
Helen was in her studio with her girlfriend Amy. Amy and I left Helen to it and visited the Neon Workshop, which was fantastic! We also popped in to Bevelo, which boasted having a signed Ashley Jackson and was displaying the art work of a proud Yorkshire man (sorry, I can't recall his name!).
Amy recommended the Neon Workshop and it didn't disappoint- I loved getting to see neon signs close up! The heat and brightness of the light coming off them was incredible. The Neon Workshop allows you to book and go on a Neon Taster day- certainly something I am now considering doing! Sounds like great fun!
All in all a most enjoyable evening, and an event I will certainly return to.
I know my blog posts are usually much better informed as to who I've seen and liked- I feel quite embarrassed that I can't tell you who most of the people I saw were, but sadly I forgot my notebook and don't have a notepad on my phone- doh! I'll do better next time!
Art Walk is on again on November 28th and will continue in 2013. I felt perfectly safe walking around Wakefield city centre on my own, the multi storey car parks are clearly sign- posted and simple to get, and the venue map for the Art Walk is really clear and easy to follow, plus all the venues advertise that they are part of the Art Walk with posters and balloons outside and they offered visitors refreshments- most excellently organised! If you want more info on some of the stuff featured in this blog post please visit-
http://artwalk.org.uk/
http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/
http://www.the-orangery.uk.net/
http://www.neonworkshops.com
http://www.the-arthouse.org.uk/
http://www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk
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