Dorset Art Weeks, the free festival of visual art, will this year involve over 600 local artists. Taking place from Saturday 27th May to Sunday 11th June, the event is the UK’s largest open art studios exhibition involving more than 370 venues. The county-wide event has been taking place every two years since 1992 and has steadily grown into a 16-day long artistic showcase. The festival's capacity has been increased this year to involve an even more diverse range of talented artists spanning genres including mosaics, pottery, calligraphy, photography, sculpture, textiles, drawing and painting, and furniture making. The last event in 2004 attracted 124,000 venue visits and sales of art work reached £878,000. Organisers are anticipating the highest ever number of visitors at this year’s event. Simon Thomas Pirie, a Director of Dorset Art Weeks, says the event is unique: “Visitors travel from across the country as Dorset Art Weeks offers the exclusive opportunity for culture lovers to view work from a huge variety of talented artists, for free, at venues within easy reach of each other. “Dorset Art Weeks has evolved to become a celebration of Dorset’s visual art and is the largest event of its kind. Its success is largely borne from the clear signposting and easy access to the many and varied studio venues across the county, as well as the welcoming hospitality of the individual artists.” Exhibitors include artists such as John Makepeace, Kim Creswell, Guy Martin, Marzia Colonna, Robert Woolner, and Catriona McLeod. Visitor information packs, outlining the artists involved and the studio locations across Dorset, will be available before the event and all participating venues will be signposted with Dorset Art Weeks road signs and banners. Dorset Art Weeks 27th May-11th June At more than 370 venues across Dorset For more information visit www.dorsetartweeks.co.uk or telephone 01305 853100 | 
