Discover Gather Give Contemporary Arts Fair

Open to the public Nov 15th to 16th 2025 at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall CV37 6EF

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1. Bathing in the New Year

   January 11, 2023 7:15 pm Leave a Comment

   So when part of the ceiling fell down in my kitchen in late November I knew it was time to swing into action.

   The plumber and I discovered a slow leak from the shower from whence the floorboards had rotted, the joists needed drying out before the damage could be assessed and the tiles once touched fell from the wall onto my waiting hands – I can only marvel at the range of teeth sucking noises my plumber and his mates have to demonstrate the seriousness of my damp plight…

   I no longer had a working shower but I had a lovely bath I had not really used unless I had been over excitable in my fitness regime and needed a long soak to calm my aching muscles.

   It has been a revalation having a daily bath; sometimes it is a quick wash in a puddle, some times a waist deep splash and submerging hair wash, whilst on rare occassions it can be up to the chin immersive soak taking my time to luxuriate until prune skin develops…

   I make my own soaps, distilling plants from my garden to make essential oils and flower water that I use to scent my gorgeous soaps with. I make the experience of scented bathing enjoyable and will miss it when my bathroom will be redone in May.

   However the thing that I have realised that one needs art in the bathroom to look at, I know have you thought of it before? We have art in every room apart from the bathroom – I know a beautiful wooden bath tray to hold soaps and a wine glass is great but if you are lying there you need something to look at besides your toes or a damp book.

   So there you have it, anyone any ideas?

    

2. #Cafdgg applications open January 1st 2023

   December 23, 2022 12:21 pm Leave a Comment

   After the busy month of November where I curate and run our Arts Fair Discover:Gather:Give, I need a month to reflect, clam down and review how the event went for me, the artists and the supporters.

   All our artists are asked to review the arts fair as to how it was for them and what I can do better to make the event as stressless as possible for both artists and visitors alike. Most artisits reply and their responses are vital as I cannot experience the event as they do and also how they viewed the organisation and social media support.

   All of the responses give me ideas and I am thankful for them. This year’s issue is so simple but I have never thought about it before – sending a receipt for payment for the exhibition space as soon as exhibitors pay, so simple, tax changing!

   So a big thank you to each exhibitor who has replied, all data is gratefully recieved!

   The applications are open from 1st January to 1st March closing at noon.

   Please email me at Judith@discovergathergive.co.uk for more information about exhibiting with us at our fab arts event.

    

3. Thank you one and all of another fantastic #Cafdgg 2022

   November 28, 2022 10:41 pm Leave a Comment

   Every year in the lead up to #Cafdgg I worry about how I can make it the best for our wonderful exhibitors and visitors, and this year was no exception.

   The visitors came in their droves, the artworks left the building with happy buyers and I felt I chatted all weekend with brand new visitors from afar, welcoming back locals, our glorious stalwarts plus inquisitive new visitors wanting to see what it was all about from our social media posts and local radio interviews.

   There was a gentle hum throughout the weekend as visitors met exhibitors talking about how their work was developing, taking commissions in time for Christmas, how they made their art work and sliding pieces of work away after a knowing present buying secretive nod.

   I was pleased to read in the exhibitor reviews about the number of visitors who took up places at workshops being held in 2023 as presents for themselves or others.

   The Golden Cup Cafe and the exhibition of Temple Goodies was busy all weekend, with some visitors not quite believing in the golden tea sets and teapots until they walked into the Ballroom ante-room upstairs and were hit by the glimmering display. I cannot begin to tell you how many visitors comment that the tea and coffee tastes better out of china cups and I felt more photos were taken of the cafe than last year!

   In the exhibitor reviews after #Cafdgg it came up about the warm and friendly atmosphere of the event and how enjoyable was to meet other exhibitors, both new and returning artists. For me this was the most important report as I feel it is my job to make the experience of exhibitors as stress free as possible, so they can concentrate on sharing their work, networking and hopefully making new artistic friends.

   The Private View was a hoot, and I especially enjoyed seeing the exhibitors chatting together before we opened the event to our invited guests. We were so busy the bar ran out of glasses so had to do a major washing halfway through the evening. I felt it set us all up for a relaxed weekend.

   I cannot put on this event without the unfailing help of my family, friends and helpers – thank you once again and are you ready for next year?

4. Our first online Arts Fair

   November 30, 2020 11:25 am Leave a Comment

   Over the weekend of October 30^th to November 1^st when we would normally be doing our fab Arts Fair at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall due to COVID-19 we went online by setting up a YouTube channel Discover Gather Give Arts Fair https://bit.ly/35QHRNh .

    

   It was a huge success for our first cyber outing with over 7,880 views of over 80 videos sent in by our artists. The videos ranged from shorts of 15-30 seconds to longer pieces of up to 30 minutes. The range was incredible, and they are still online now, so do pop over and look through them.

    

   It is fascinating to dig into the analytics and find out that unsurprisingly we had more female viewers than male, although they put in a good show of nearly 40%, and our age range of 18-24 and 55-64 years were the most popular, with the 30+ years coming in a close third.

    

   One fact that really surprised me was where our viewers came from; the UK and USA were to be expected but Belarus, Philippines, and Chile? So surprised and pleased that we can access the global markets.

    

   It brought home to me that as artists there are no limits to where you can sell your work, it is just getting your name out there and how accessible you are to your potential collectors.

    

   So I have decided that I will do another online fair in February 2021 using the skills I have learnt curating this year’s event – least of which is not to get the giggles, drop my phone whilst recording, sit in a squeaking chair or mince my words up into gobbledygoop!

    

   If you want to join us, then email me on judith@discovergathergive.co.uk

5. After the Fair…

   November 20, 2019 3:05 pm Leave a Comment

   In the first few weeks after curating the glorious Contemporary Arts Fair Discover:Gather:Give I am slowly settling down and giving myself time to reflect on the event; to me one of the most important undertakings to achieve.

   I read with interest all the exhibitors reviews, remember the comments made by visitors as they arrived and left carrying bundles and bags of artwork, of the social media responses and suggestions from friends and family – every single one essential to enable me to develop #Cafdgg into a live and relevant event.

   I value and learn from each comment sometimes more from the brutal than the kind, as it takes an experienced exhibitor to compare #Cafdgg with numerous other events they have attended to widen my eyes and for that I am grateful. All  reviews are welcome as I can learn something from every one.

   For me the most effective way of learning from the reviews is to let them sink into my mind as I do other things – the moment before I fall asleep, whilst gardening, doing tai chi or walking up a mountain and inevitably a solution will float through and I can assess the validity of it before the process starts again.

   It is like making a piece of art; you know your starting place and yet how do know when your thought process is complete?

   Each time I curate an event it takes weeks of thinking, envisaging what it may look like on my virtual mental tour before I even start on the actual planing. The time between now and March is vital as for each event I plan the change in focus of it  – more jewellery and woodturning, different price points, less painting and illustration, introducing basketry, silversmithing or blacksmithing, or adding demonstrations and workshops – all ideas to be dashed or built upon.

   In  March 2020 exhibition spaces will be allocated to the artists who have applied to exhibit with us and it is the correlation between my plans and the artists skills that pulls together the setting up of a flowing, inspiring and enjoyable event for both the visitors and artists alike.

   At the moment I am open to all of the ideas as they float into my head as I, snooze, walk, dig and do the White Crane as I rest and recuperate.