2020 Wales winner of the Epic Awards offered by Voluntary Arts to inspiring community projects Art on the Hill is back and ready to take over Newport, South Wales for the fifth year running, as the city emerges from the COVID pandemic. Venues across Newport will be taking part in the festival, showcasing visual arts, photography, live music, spoken word, and film. There will also be opportunities to take part in workshops both in person and online.
Art On The Hill 2021 launches on Friday 26th November with events taking place across Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th November.
As usual Art On The Hill will produce an event map which can be downloaded and printed from the Art On The Hill website, offering the opportunity for the people of Newport to explore the different exhibitions and events on offer and paper maps will be on offer from participating venues.
Get Out and About With Art On The Hill
Art On The Hill encourages people to get out and about across the weekend and follow the art trail on the map. Art will be exhibited across the weekend in domestic windows and porches, in cafes and shops, in churches, and even on the move in a backpack!
Visit regular Art On The Hill venues The Riverfront Theatre, Diverse Vinyl, Rogue Fox Coffee, St Marks Church, and the Cwtsh Art Centre. Check out new venues for this year – Unit 9 in Friars Walk, Foto Newport in Market Arcade, and Nettle and Bark on Clytha Park Road.
Visual Artists at Art On The Hill
There will be a host of visual artists taking part in Art On The Hill this year. Ceramics artist Nathan Sheen presents A Spoonful of Love – 6 ceramic love spoons which will be exhibited across different venues. Start at the Cwtsh and follow the clues to find them all. Newport born Heidi Baines shows new prints conceived as a sound map to places visited in lockdown. Artist and printmaker Bill Chambers collaborates with Marega Palser on a visual exploration of confinement inspired by lockdown. See the natural world through the eyes of Newport artists Pauline Price, Ella J Wilding and Greta Hart.
Not everything at Art On The Hill will be in a window or on a wall. Explore Kate Verity’s Urban Fridges – domestic appliances at the end of their lives given a new artistic lease of life. Catch the Little Space Gallery as it travels on the back of it’s curator, artist Temmah. This translucent backpack miniature gallery space will be traveling around venues on Saturday 27th November between 12pm and 4pm. Join Aled Singleton on Saturday afternoon for a creative walk and lose yourself Drifting Down Dock Street.
Photography will be the main theme at St Marks Church again this year, curated by local photographer John Briggs. Anthony Carter exhibits street portraits from Newport, Abertillery and Hay-on-Wye. Father and daughter team Stephen Hammett & Temmah show images of their lockdown walks – conversations through light, water, movement and photography. Jonathan Sherwood explores two bell towers with ringing bells.
Live Music at Art On The Hill
As well as the exhibitions, there will be a wide range of live music, spoken word and film events on offer across the Art On The Hill weekend.
The AOTH weekend kicks off in style on Friday with Live at the Riverfront – an evening of free evening of music. There will also be live music at St Marks Church on Saturday and Sunday, and a live music session at The Cellar Door from 4pm on Sunday evening.
On Saturday evening Le Public Space will host CARPET SPOKEN WORD and film shorts. On Sunday morning log on to You Tube and watch writer Sarah M Davies as she documents her journey from Newport to Scotland.
On Sunday afternoon, Unit 9 in Friars Walk will screen Lost In Time – the story of the Newport Clock created by Tin Shed Theatre and Mawr. On Sunday evening, wind down with a visit to the Phoenix Film Club at the Cwtsh.
Art On The Hill – Get Involved
There’s a chance to get involved, with a range of workshops across the Art On The Hill weekend. If you prefer to stay in, join Company of Words online for Saturday morning coffee and poetry and learn to break the rules like poet Alison Bielski. Drop in and take part in arts and craft workshops for the whole family at The Riverfront Theatre on Saturday and Sunday and browse stalls from local makers. Finally Marega Palser leads a movement workshop exploring the Vitality of the Spine on Sunday morning at Unit 9.
Festival Co-Director Sarah Goodey says “We are thrilled to present such a rich programme this year, after scaling back last year due to the pandemic.
“Newport has a rich artistic life and Art On The Hill is a brilliant way to showcase that. I encourage people to grab a map and get out and about and explore what’s on offer. There’s so much to see and so much to celebrate!”
Art On The Hill 2021 – Useful Links
- Friday 26th November – Sunday 28th November 2021
- To see full listings please visit the Art On The Hill blog
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AOTH.NP20/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AOTH_NP20
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aoth.np20/
- Shere your Art On the Hill experience on socials: #aoth2021