artinaction

media type="custom" key="4114873" align="right"Art in Action
related: england editing: [|art in action 2009]

[|Oxford, England] - [|Art in Action] is a feast for the soul and the senses that takes place in July.

As one of the longest running art and craft festivals in the United Kingdom, it brings together hundreds of artists in a vast array of artistic disciplines offering beauty, inspiration and creativity.

Artists set up their studios and work in marquess set in the beautiful grounds of Waterperry House near Oxford, offering visitors a rare opportunity to observe the creative process first hand and to speak to the artists.

Some history
Art in Action -- [|www.artinaction.org.uk] -- was created out of a simple observation: people are fascinated when artists and craftsmen openly demonstrate their skills and discuss their work. Bernard Saunders, then guardian of [|Waterperry Gardens], decided to organise an event at Waterperry based on this principle. Artists and craftspeople would work as if in their own studios, with the public as audience.

In 1977, 51 artists and musicians took part and 14,000 visitors arrived. The event is now a showcase for over 250 demonstrators from a wide range of disciplines including painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics and textiles. Art in Action 2006 attracted about 22,000 visitors.

The event has expanded over the years to include practical classes (open to all ages and skill levels), performances of fine music and dance, dialogues on arts and crafts, a craft market, and a range of refreshment facilities.

Art in Action is made possible by the generous voluntary work of students from the London-based School of Economic Science and its associated schools from around the world. ([|see The Organisers])


 * Tip:** Be prepared to be surprised, even overwhelmed, by the scale and artistic qualities on display at Art in Action. So budget plenty of time to enjoy the event.

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2402496179

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hilarysimon http://www.flickr.com/photos/davep-uk/2696727940/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/henrybloomfield/2681991904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/davep-uk/2695913081 http://www.flickr.com/photos/borisdeoaxaca/sets/72157621227663588

News
[|Art in Action: Waterperry House - Oxford Times] [|BBC - Oxford - Oxford Inspires - Art in Action] [|BBC - Oxford - Features - Waterperry hosts the arts festival Art In Action]

2009 Featured International Artists
In 2009 the event featured artists from [|Oaxaca, Mexico].

Adriana Amaya will demonstrate the traditional Mexican art of paper cutting known as ‘Papel Picado’. She works like magic and tranforms tissue paper into life with a string of skeletons or a detailed picture. She can make a Costume from Tissue cutting it out to make it look like lace.

Arturo Sosa Pérez - the crafting of tin ornaments and has been considered the best in Mexico since 1960.

Boris Spider - installations, boxes, Papier-mâché and Alebrijes (brightly-colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical animal-like creatures). http://www.flickr.com/photos/planeta/2128590325

Juan Alcazar - watercolors, etching and oil paintings. He will demonstrate on a carpet of sand – Alfombras.

Miriam Ladrón de Guevara - boxes, figurative sculpture and floral/patterned plastic and material bags, purses and backpacks.

Moises Martinez - traditional silk weaving on a backstrap loom he will bring from Mexico. He is representing his family, from the highlands of Oaxaca, San Pedro Cajonos, who for generations have gathered worms and spun and woven silk into rebozos (Mexican shawls) with intricate work on the fringing.

Videos
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