It’s very exciting to see some of Faversham’s cafes beginning to feature artistic opportunities amongst the crockery and cutlery recently – both Jittermugs and the newest addition to the town’s cafe-culture, The Yard are currently hosting exhibitions of work by local artists.
It seems to me that this is a development which could also serve the wider community, whereby the arts and retailers work together for the benefit of wider promotion. Local photographers could celebrate Faversham’s shops, cafes and historic buildings and amenties, and in return, shops could host artists’ work, displays and exhibitions.
The eye-catching window displays which frequently adorn The Disgruntled Cat could form the basis for a photographic exhibition, for instance, that the shop itself could then host, or which could be featured in a display in the Alexander Centre, or a pop-up gallery at another venue in town. Customers browsing for goods would also be exposed to artwork, to paintings and drawings celebrating the life of the town and its inhabitants. Restaurants such as The Saddlers or Posillipo‘s could host temporary paintings; a photographic exhibition might explore the various eateries to be found around the town. Art in unexpected places is always exciting: live music in a library (!), poetry in a cafe, pictures in a farm-shop…
For a creek-side town with a nautical heritage, the metaphor ‘All boats rise with the tide’ is entirely appropriate; and if we could pull this together in time for June, when the public eye will be drawn to Faversham for the celebrations of the Magna Carta, so much the better. If we can work side by side to promote and foster businesses, the arts, the history and the town of Faversham, we could really begin to reinvogorate the Market Town of Kings. There’s a vibrant community, full of creative individuals, that feels like an untapped resource at the moment; it’s all about finding new ways of engaging customers, and drawing people over the threshold. An art exhibition in the foyer of Faversham Pools, or a floating exhibition or book-club on the boats at the creek, anyone ?!
If you would like to develop this idea, get in touch: talk to us on Twittter. If we can get retailers, artists and traders talking to one another, it could be a welcome tonic for the town’s economy too. Let’s see if we can make this work.
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