Pittenweem Arts Festival
Saturday 3 - Sunday 11 August 2013
Free entry to all exhibitions, 10am - 5pm daily
Pittenweem currently has around 30 artists resident in the village & many more in the surrounding chain of small fishing villages set along the lovely East Neuk coastline.
The festival hosts an exciting mixture of well-established invited artists, newcomers & resident artists, who exhibit in homes, studios, galleries & public spaces throughout the village & its environs. Over 9 days, we offer visitors a wide variety of exhibitions, workshops, performances, talks & children’s events, all related to the arts.
How the village benefits
While the festival is a success for visitors & participating artists, we try each year to ensure that the community benefits. As far as possible, our own spending is within the village.
We were pleased that the £50,000 upgrade of our festival premises this year, a grant-aided project, resulted in 85% of the work being undertaken by Pittenweem-based contractors. Local tradespeople are employed by the festival on a regular basis as well as security staff, car park attendants, gallery sitters, office staff & the shuttle bus driver, who are also as far as possible, drawn from the local area. The festival also rents the local church hall, the Old Town Hall & The Old Men’s Club (we decorate these too), money going back locally.
In 2012 we were pleased to have had the use of the toilet facilities in the Pittenweem & District Sports Association pavilion beside the car park. Rather than hiring a port-a-loo & spending the money outside of the village, we were able to support the local football teams with a donation. Many thanks for their help.
Local businesses
Local businesses benefit from an increased visitor spend in our popular village as do the B&Bs & other accommodation. Residents find also that renting out a room or a garage as a venue during the festival is a useful money-earner.
Donations
Fife Council has encouraged each coastal village to install a defibrillator, a life saving device in heart attack cases. Pittenweem Community Council asked local businesses to contribute to the cost & we were happy to do so.
Encouraging tourism
Moving to a wider view, Pittenweem Arts Festival attracts about 25,000 visitors each year which benefits the local community & the surrounding area. Also, the high profile of the festival works to introduce Fife as a tourist destination.
VisitScotland chose Pittenweem, with our 2011 Helen Denerley exhibition on the pier, to feature in their TV commercial for the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, a clear example of the appeal of Pittenweem & the drawing power of the festival.
We’re pleased to be a festival that brings enjoyment to so many visitors & boosts the local economy.
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