ORGANISERS of a Huddersfield art festival have revealed ambitious plans for a major expansion following the success of this year’s event.
The Huddersfield Open Studio Trail (Host) marked its fifth year this year. Dozens of the town’s top artists threw open their doors to the public on two weekends in September, giving people a chance to see them at work, try out different art techniques and buy work.
Art on show included dramatic chainsaw sculptures, stunning paintings, silver and metal works, creative textiles, jewellery and ceramics.
Thanks to the success of this year’s event, discussions are now under way to expand next year’s Host to include an array of fringe events and to take the event into north Kirklees, to towns such as Batley and Dewsbury.
It is also hoped that Host 2009 will kick off with a huge opening party in Huddersfield town centre.
Dionne Swift, a textile artist and one of the Host organisers, said: “It is an incredibly exciting time for Host and for the arts in general in Huddersfield.
“We’ve had another fantastic year. We attracted a lot of new people who had not experienced Host before, as well as those who have been coming for years and who were delighted to see new artists and venues this year.”
Twenty-two venues opened to the public this year and the organisers are hoping for even more next year.
Dionne added: “We even had some visitors who made it to all 22 venues. We have grand plans for the future but we are very keen to listen to what our local artists think first and we’ll be holding an event with them next week to discuss the options.
“We also want anyone who came to Host to return their feedback forms as soon as possible so we can take as many visitors’ views into account as we can.”
Host’s supporters include Arts Council Yorkshire, the University of Huddersfield and Kirklees Council.
Anyone who would like to offer their views on Host and its plans for next year or who is interested in being a Host sponsor should email art@hoststudios.co.uk
