Didcot Arts

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2010 Art Exhibition

With the Civic Hall scheduled to be closed for the Annual Art Exhibition’s usual weekend (August Bank Holiday) it has been decided to bring it forward to Friday 18th to Sunday 20th June 2010. The other alternatives were to hold it at a different venue or cancel it altogether, but these options were ruled out as it was felt that they could jeopardise the momentum that the Art Exhibition has created.

This will be the 15th year the Town Council has hosted the exhibition in conjunction with Darts.

As always, we are looking for artists to exhibit, both amateur and professional and in all disciplines and of course we want people to come along and view the exhibition and if so inclined, purchase some art. All the work exhibited is for sale!

Last year’s People’s Choice winner was the memorable Didcot Montage by Linda Benton which was featured on the cover of the Didcot Dynamo and prints of which have gone on to become welcome additions to many Didcot living rooms!

If you would like to exhibit then you can download an entry form here. Alternatively contact Sue Atkins in the Town Council’s Information Centre on 01235 812637. Hanging fees are £2.50 per framed item or piece of sculpture and £1.50 unframed.

There will be the private viewing on Friday evening for invited guests. Saturday and Sunday will be the open viewing. The general public will be asked to vote for their favorite piece of art which will then be purchased and added to the Community Collection.

Entry Form

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Didcot Town Council - Arts & Grants Committee

The Arts & Grants committee is responsible for a budget of over £30,000 which is used to support organisations working for the benefit of the people of Didcot, and also for the Town Council's own arts and entertainment projects.

There is not space here to list all the organisations which the Town Council has grant aided but we are all very aware of all the hard work that is done by many individuals which helps contribute towards the spirit of the town.

An application form and Grant Aid Policy are available in word format and may also be obtained from the Information Centre, by telephoning 01235 812637 or by email to council@didcot.gov.uk.

Didcot Arts Forum - DAF

Didcot is fortunate in the support that the Town Council gives to the arts, both financially and in the encouragement it gives to art groups to engage with the public.

One important aspect is the creation of Didcot Arts Forum (DAF), now in existence for over 19 years. DAF promotes the arts in Didcot and acts as a simple conduit for the arts funding provided by the Town Council through its Arts and Grants Committee.

If your group offers entertainment to others by means of performing, writing, learning or creating in any form then we would like to hear from you. In addition if you have any suggestions for future events that you would like to see held in Didcot or would like to contact us about becoming involved with or affiliated to the Didcot Arts Forum please contact Leslie Hood at Didcot.daf@btopenworld.com

Grant Aid awarded through the DIDCOT ARTS FORUM (D.A.F.):

Annual Art Exhibition 2009

Didcot Town Council once again hosted the Annual Didcot Open Art Exhibition at the Civic Hall over the August bank holiday weekend, this being the fourteenth year. The exhibition continues to gets bigger and better and 2009 was no exception with a record number of exhibits and visitors. There was also a major increase in the number of sales.

Organised in conjunction with Didcot Arts, anybody is permitted to exhibit with the only proviso being that it must be for sale. There was a wide range of art on display from watercolours to sculpture.

The main talking point of the Annual Didcot Open Art Exhibition 2009 was whether many of the visitors featured in one of the paintings!

Linda Benton’s Didcot Montage, which received the People’s Choice Award as the most popular exhibit, featured all of Didcot’s major landmarks and also many of Didcot’s major characters with over 20 buildings and scenes and over 100 people depicted!

Winning the people’s choice was a great honour for Linda and a print of the Didcot Montage will be hung in the community collection at the Civic Hall shortly. Commenting on the People’s Choice the Mayor, Margaret Turner said “it is a very clever piece of work which really portrays the vibrancy of Didcot”.

The Didcot Montage was so popular that it has been turned into a greetings card priced £2 and is available from the One Stop Shop.

Winner of the Mayor’s Choice was an oil picture by Doreen Smith named ‘Solitude’. Depicting a single sailing boat aground a bank as the sea goes out under a moody sky, it is a beautiful picture. Again this will be placed on permanent display in the Civic Hall Community Collection. The Mayor explained her reason for choosing it “it is so peaceful and tranquil and so well painted that I think it will never date. My only criteria when choosing the Mayor’s Choice was that it would have to be something I wanted in my own home and this picture certainly fits the bill’.

The Annual Didcot Open Art Exhibition is hosted and financially supported by Didcot Town Council.

Annual Art Exhibition 2008

For the 13th successive year, the Town Council sponsored and hosted the town's Art Exhibition with over 235 works on show at the Civic Hall. This annual event is a real highlight and enjoyed by all who exhibit and visit.

The Mayor's Choice award for 2008 went to Chieko Ravenscroft for 3 portraits of various stars with the People’s Choice going to Joyce Wyatt, for her "Still Life" work.

Thanks is extended to Sue Atkins and all the other volunteers for all their hard work in making the event such a success.

To see a slide show of other work displayed at the exhibition click on the DARTS logo.

(All images copyright Didcot Town Council, all artwork rights belong to the attributed artisits)

Didcot Arts Society (D'Arts)

Didcot Arts Society exists to provide a focus for the people of Didcot and the surrounding area in which they can enjoy and extend their interest in the visual arts.

There are monthly meetings, open to the public, to share the experience of national and local artists through demonstrations, talks and hands-on workshops.  The meetings are held on the last Tuesday in the month beginning at 8pm and currently take place in the small hall of Didcot Civic Hall.

Members can display their work for sale at our local venues around Didcot and at our exhibitions.  The annual subscription as of 2009 is £15 and there is a door fee on the night of £1.50 for members and £4 for visitors.