Festival Stories

A neglected Belle Vue pocket park is stepping back into the limelight after being shown some love by Belle Vue Arts Festival. The small grassy area known as The Green, which straddles space between Hereford Road and Upper Road, is being transformed into a riot of colour for the Festival. 'It was felt by its neighbours to be ‘unloved’' said Festival Chair Corinne Brown, 'so we were asked by Shrewsbury Town Council to brighten things up a bit, and they donated some funding in

'So much fun'; 'the best time'; 'really, really good'. These were just some of the comments from Belle Vue Arts Festival committee members who were lucky enough to visit Andy McKeown's cavernous studio recently for a dry-run of the stop-animation sessions he is offering as part of this year's Festival. Perhaps best-known locally as the man behind the much-loved immersive digital lights installation 'Splinters of Heaven' at St Mary's Church and the huge projections of Charles

'My T-shirt is a seascape. The sun is shining, there's two mermaids having an ice cream, there's a dolphin that looks like it's frying an egg, but actually I think it's playing a guitar, there's a seagull that's happily stolen a packet of crisps, there's a crab that's wearing sun glasses, and it says “Costa del Lols”, which fills me with joy.' Helen Brown, facilitator of Belle Vue Arts Festival's Art for Well-Being workshop on June 10th, is the first Festival blog interviewee

Sue Mann, Lead Organiser If there's one that word sums up Belle Vue Arts Festival's annual art exhibition, that word is 'diversity'. 'When I visit exhibitions myself' said exhibition organiser Sue Mann 'the ones that really interest me and catch my eye are the ones where there's lots of diversity: diversity in mediums, diversity in how the works have been created, diversity in ages represented...I love that, and I love anything to do with community and bringing people togethe

'Creativity is the golden thread woven through Coleham School’s story' explained the school's dedicated Arts Co-ordinator Lottie Heap. 'We believe that we are all artists – staff and children together – and our creative curriculum gives everyone the opportunity to explore, express, and grow.' Business Manager Tracy Othen agrees. 'We place great value on creative thinking and entrepreneurship' she said 'because we know these skills will shape our children’s futures in an ever‑

Dig out your retro gladrags, people! Get working on those moves! On 13th June at Rea Brook Social Club, Belle Vue Arts Festival will be hosting the ultimate Fantasy Back to the Future vinyl disco experience and you definitely won't want to miss it! Bringing you all your favourite music from the 1950s to the 1990s will be Belle Vue's very own Old Skool Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuunes – and to make things extra-special, their friends from Bakrabeats all-vinyl reggae disco will be joining t

Offering an incredible weekly timetable of twenty-five yoga classes to suit all abilities and needs, plus retreats, workshops, pilates, tai chi and a range of complementary therapies, Jenna Blair Yoga Wellbeing Centre has certainly grown since it opened its doors in 2021. A valued member of the Belle Vue community, the Centre is also an integral part of Belle Vue Arts Festival. As in previous years, 2026 will see it supporting the Festival by hosting a free 45-minute yoga tas

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