RYEDALE’S professional creative community is coming together to celebrate its success with the first Ryedale ArtFest.

Ryedale ArtFest is a new showcase for Ryedale’s artistic talent. A host of artists, craftsmen, galleries and studios willhold exhibitions and displays across the district over three weeks beginning today and running until October 15.

Exhibitions will feature new work on show and for sale in the artists’ own studios and at seven Ryedale galleries.

The project is an initiative by the Ryedale Visual Arts Forum to celebrate the region’s diverse and distinctive artistic talent.

Led by Ryedale District Council cultural officer Yvette Turnbull, the visual arts forum is aimed at raising the profile of the creative industries in the area and gives artists in a rural location a platform to develop and market their work as part of a large support network.

She said of the project: “We’ve been building up the network over the past four years and this is the first time that the membership has come together to exhibit. I’m really proud of the range and quality of the work, and it’s a sign of the strength and depth of Ryedale’s visual arts community that we can put on such a range of exhibitions.”

ArtFest will feature more than 20 local artists exhibiting at seven galleries in Ryedale, including Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton le Hole; the Saltbox Gallery, Helmsley; Back o’ the Shop, Terrington; Summit Bookshop, Kirkbymoorside; Talents Fine Art, Malton, and the Yorkshire Wolds Gallery, Staxton. ArtFest will also feature a range of artists opening their studios during the festival, giving visitors behindthe- scenes access to their studios.

Ryedale Folk Museum will exhibit the work of five women artists: Sue Gough, June Emerson, Sue Slann, Jackie Stonehouse and Maria Silmon.

Curator Andrew Dalton said: “The six artists showing at Ryedale Folk Museum highlight the breadth of art practice in the area. Works range from painting and digital photography through representation to abstraction.

This exhibition and the festival is a great opportunity for visitors to get a real insight into the artists living and working in their region.”

An arts trail leaflet will accompany the festival, giving details of exhibiting artists, galleries and studio times.

Leaflets will be available through tourist information centres and participating galleries and can be downloaded from ryedaleartfest.com.

For further information on dates and opening times, visit ryedaleartfest.com or contact artfest@live.co.uk