Festival Stories

Harvey Taylor, self portrait “An ancient civilization created by Harvey Taylor” is how Shrewsbury artist Harvey Taylor describes the fantastical world of Dada Luz, which he will unveil at an exhibition at the town's Bear Steps Gallery this October. But before that, Harvey will be bringing his playfully surreal brand of creativity to Belle Vue Arts Festival in a series of children's gel printing workshops. “The first thing we'll be doing is printing biscuits” he said. “I'll br

What connects a once-neglected building in the grounds of Coleham School and a thriving book group now in its twentieth year? “The club grew out of a group of us who lived in Belle Vue and had children at the school” says Diana Walton, founder member of the Belle Vue Book Group. “I was a governor there at the time. Partly, we just wanted to talk about books – but also, we wanted to support the restoration of a near-derelict Victorian coach house in the school grounds. The sch

A writing competition with a difference makes its debut at Belle Vue Arts Festival 2026. Masterminded by award-winning sci-fi and fantasy short story author Liam Hogan, contestants will be challenged to produce a 'drabble' – a story exactly 100 words long. With two short story collections under his belt, plus contributions to numerous anthologies, prolific drabble-writer Liam is uniquely qualified to spearhead the Shrewsbury competition. Locals may know him from his involveme

Stand by for Shropshire's rich folkloric heritage to take centre stage in two storytelling events set for Belle Vue Arts Festival 2026! Inspired by this year's Festival theme of 'fantasy', professional oral storyteller Danielle Free will bring to life some of the county's best-loved mythical and legendary figures in separate sessions for adults and children. Shropshire-based Danielle holds a Masters in Celtic Studies, has been supported by Storytelling Production company Adve

“You don't have to think outside the box, because there is no box.” That's how Shropshire-based artist Eira Richards sums up the unique power of Manga. Author of three Manga-style graphic novels and contributor to numerous exhibitions and panel discussions all around the UK, in 2025 Eira also appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's flagship arts programme Front Row. Add to that the fact that she's an art teacher with twenty years experience and holds a Masters in Artist Teacher

You might not know it, but you've probably already seen the work of Shrewsbury artist Rich Keay, designer of our 2026 festival poster. Every year Coleham businesses embrace the Festival spirit by re-imagining their plate glass windows as canvases and inviting local artists to unleash their creativity across them. In 2025, Canny Cuts, Coleham Barbers and Hair Forum all had their windows transformed by Rich. And that's not all. As part of his day job at the town's Waterstone's