The Manx public have been invited to meet the island’s artistic community at a series of events over the next few weeks.

The Isle of Man Art Festival is an island-wide biennial event organised by The Creative Network.  

This will be the 10th running of the festival, which organisers describe as ‘a celebration of visual art that provides an opportunity to discover the wealth of creativity in our island.’

Designed to enable artists to showcase their work and the public to meet them face to face, it is to be held over three weekends in August at a variety of venues across the island.

This weekend – August 5 and 6 – events will primarily be based in the south of the island, while the following week sees the west and central venues play host.

Finally on August 19 and 20, venues in the north will take centre stage.

In addition to this, the Hodgson Loom Gallery in Laxey is hosting a collective Creative Network group show from Saturday until September 16.

A spokesperson from the festival’s organisers said: ‘This festival is where visitors can find out how and why the island’s artists create what they do, and in some cases demonstrating and even encouraging visitors to have a go too.

‘The various exhibitions will offer a visual feast of the creative use of a wide variety of fine arts and crafts in the following media: clay, digital art, drawing, painting, textiles, glass, graphics and printmaking, jewellery, metal, mixed media, photography, sculpture and wood.’

This year the festival features the following:

l New shared venues such as the Village Hall in Ballasalla, and Quayle’s Hall in Ramsey.

l Well-established venues such as Grenaby Studios; Mama Moon Studio, the House of Manannan, the Garden Studio, and the ArtReach Studios in Peel, Pinewood Studios in Kirk Michael, the Engine House and Art Squared in Castletown.

l Five new open studios – Anna Clucas in Douglas, Ali Hodgson in Peel, Rebecca Odessa in Bride, Helen Fox in Kirk Michael andErica Kermode with Alison Winckle in Cronk-y-Voddy. 

l Talking Textiles: a new group who work in cloth, stitch and mixed media, are showing work at Ballasalla Village Hall.

l Try-out sessions are being offered by artists, Ali Foster, Rosie Glassey, Jo Lewy, Debra Tracey-Carney, Rosie Wood at Grenaby Studios.

l The Herring Hunt is a free summer activity for children on the Creative Network’s Silverburn Art Trail.

l New Creative Network virtual gallery on Facebook.

The various events are free to attend and all venues are open from 11am until 5pm except where stated differently in the guide.

That latter is now available in major galleries, local libraries, tourist information centres and festival venues.

Please see www.creativenetworkiom.com/art-festival-2023.html for any last-minute changes to the festival’s programme.

l The festival is supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council, Manx National Heritage and numerous venues.