Carlisle’s Historic Quarter Arts Festival is to return this August to showcase artists in the centre of the city.
It is the festival’s third year and has been made possible by funding from Cumberland Council and the University of Cumbria.
Uniquely it combines a central exhibition on Paternoster Row alongside exhibition space in a range of venues around the Historic Quarter, including Tullie, hairdressers and estate agents. And the public will be invited to follow an art trail of competition entries.
Artist Seren Shaw, organiser of stArt will curate the exhibition and is encouraging professional artists and amateurs to enter. She said “This is a great opportunity for artists in our city to exhibit their work in a gallery setting and also take part in a competition at the same time. As organiser of StArt I’m delighted to be involved in the running of the Historic Quarter Arts Festival, as I think more celebration of our incredible arts and culture is exactly what Carlisle needs.”
There will be a range of prizes for different mediums including photography and the festival will have the loose theme of Faces of Carlisle.
Nick Turner, director of Intro PR & Social Media Ltd, which organises the Historic Quarter Arts Festival, is pleased to see the festival’s return: “Last year’s Arts Festival was brilliant – we had entries from over 50 artists and the standard was incredibly high. It’s a great event for the Historic Quarter, with visitors heading here to see the art and boosting trade in our local shops and cafes.”
