Art in the Open 2021

En plein air, or plein air painting, is the act of painting outdoors and the best place to see this in action is most definitely Wexford’s annual Art in the Open (AITO) festival. It is the largest outdoor painting festival in Europe and this year celebrates its 14th anniversary in the Sunny South East. It will also be my 6th year participating.

Due to Covid19 it is a scaled back festival this year taking place over 3 days instead of the usual week long festivities but I’m sure it will still be a great festival with lots of amazing local artists.

On Friday 30th July the paint out venue is in Wexford town itself. In previous years AITO has begun and ended in Wexford town so I’ve painted here a few times now and I especially enjoyed painting along the quayside last year, meeting fellow artists and chatting to tourists and locals alike as they wander down a series of narrow lanes from the main street to the beautiful quayside boardwalk.

Saturday 31st July will bring us to the North Slobs Wildfowl Reserve and I’m really excited about this location. Despite being on my doorstep it is years since I’ve been out to this stunning 2,500 acre nature reserve. Fun fact; It’s the lowest geographical point in the Republic of Ireland.

The final day of AITO will bring me back to the Irish National Heritage Park located on the banks of the river Slaney in Ferrycarrig. There is a wealth of interesting things to paint here, the hardest part of the day will be just choosing what to paint from replica crannógs to Norman castles and ringforts. You can even stay overnight in a ringfort like it’s 500AD (I have done this and yes, it is as amazing as it sounds!)

But back to the painting; if you are interested in seeing the art work produced each day there will be a daily exhibition on Wexford Quayside at 6pm where the public are welcome to view the pieces and chat to artists from a safe social distance. You can even buy a piece directly off the easel to remember what I guarantee will be an amazing weekend in Wexford.

 

Resources;

Discover Ireland; https://www.discoverireland.ie/wexford/art-in-the-open

Art in the Open; https://web-eur.cvent.com/event/98d29f30-1c10-4a76-b42c-fe4f98744f44/summary

Wexford Town; https://www.visitwexford.ie/

The National Heritage Park; https://www.irishheritage.ie/

Wexford Wildfowl Reserve; https://www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie/