About Us
Festival History
The annual Belle Vue Arts Festival is the brain child of Judy Townsend, a former teacher and Mayoress of Shrewsbury. In 2003, Judy, along with the help of friends and local artists came together to create an inspiring week of arts events for the local community of Belle Vue. Now, twenty years later, the festival continues through the efforts of a small group of committed volunteers and a wide network of supporters.
Our Vision and Purpose
Over the years, the Belle Vue Arts Festival has widened its scope to include most of the arts, including photography and music as well as other community activities such as history walks and competitions.
Our vision is to offer art inspired events for the Belle Vue community and beyond by:
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Providing gallery and performing space to local artists.
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Staging high quality events and exhibitions.
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Organising art workshops and competitions.
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Supporting the local community and its institutions/organisations.
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Encouraging participation of all members of the Belle Vue community.
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Providing free or value for money events that enrich community life and wellbeing.
The festival relies solely on local fundraising through event sales, to keep it self-sustaining on what still is a minimal budget.
We therefore would like to say a big thank you to our community and local businesses and organisations for their generous and ongoing support.
In particular we would like to thank Coleham Primary School, The Hermitage Centre, stop.coffee for allowing us to use their premises year round and selling our trail tickets along with Coleham Sandwich Bar and House Coffee.
We are also extremely grateful to the local churches and other organisations, for allowing us to use their facilities.