THE FORM ART FESTIVAL 2023 IN FALMOUTH TAKES PLACE BETWEEN FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER AND SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER 2023. ENJOY A RAFT OF ARTISTIC EVENTS, INCLUDING A FREE ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA AT THE TOWN’S PRINCESS PAVILION
Falmouth is fast becoming known as an arts and culture haven, isn’t it? The Falmouth Book Festival is helping the Cornish town to make a creative name for itself, as are events like the Falmouth Cringe comedy festival and the FIAFest for international arts.
This drive is certainly helped by all the arty students from Falmouth University who get involved but it’s easy to forget that this busy port is home to an array of creative talents who all want to carve a place for the area as a dynamic arts hub for Cornwall.
So, over a weekend in late September and early October 2022, along came another pioneering event. The Form Art Festival 2022 also did its bit to put Falmouth on the creative map.
The three-day fest was all about raising the profile of the art created both in the town and across the wider panorama of Cornwall and celebrating it with locals and visitors. It was the inaugural edition of a new annual festival which, as the organisers put it, ‘celebrates the visual arts heritage and vibrant creative culture of Falmouth‘.
And it’s back at the end of September 2023! The Form Art Festival 2023 in Falmouth takes place between Friday 29 September and Sunday 1 October 2023, with other related events taking place in and around the town during the final week of September.
What to expect at the Form Falmouth Art Festival 2023?
The pièce de résistance is undoubtedly the free three-day event in the heart of the town on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Form Art Fair is at the Princess Pavilion off Melvill Road, near Gylly Beach, and it features the work of more than 90 artists and master craftspeople.
Visitors can wander the exhibits and meet the creatives as live music played from the bandstand. There are loads of demonstrations at the fair, from wheel thrown pottery to wood-turning, as well as an array of food stalls. And what’s more: entry is FREE! Expect ceramicists like Amy Cooper, painters like Darcy Chapple, printmakers like Debbie Bunce, sculptors like Richard Holliday, furniture makers like Tom Salkeid, jewellers like Naomi Lewis and, oh, so many more talents from across the region.
Other events under the 2023 festival banner include lectures and exhibitions in a good handful of venues across the town. From Thursday 21 September 2023, for instance, ‘Show No 5’ at Morgan’s Gallery ‘brings together new collections of paintings by artists including Marianne Nicholls, Harry Wade and Jay Harper.
Also, until Saturday 30 September 2023, ‘The Legend of King Arthur: A Pre-Raphaelite Love Story’ is at Falmouth Art Gallery. The exhibition ‘tells the story’ of the links ‘between the world-famous legend of King Arthur, the renowned Pre-Raphaelite artists and Cornwall’s Arthurian heritage’. There are other associated events too, so check out the website for the complete programme: here.
In fact, it’s worth scouring the official website for details of the 2023 fest, particularly as many local artists and craftspeople are introduced to visitors. Click on the ‘website’ link above for that. With Form, Falmouth is taking another giant leap towards being an important arts and culture hub in Cornwall.