WELCOME Welcome to the fifth edition of Kensington + Chelsea Art Week! We celebrate our return with yet another fantastic programme of events hosted by venues and artists in our unique area of London. On the theme of Nourish, we have expanded KCAW Public Art Trail to new locations, including Exhibition Road, South Kensington, with the Great Exhibition Road Festival returning to this iconic street after a two-year pause, and to Sloane Street, where we focus on Chelsea styles. KCAW Poetry Corner and KCAW x Chelsea Windows once again support emerging artists and poets: spot them in windows across the area and follow self-guided trails by downloading the Go Jauntly app. You can also join me on a borough-wide self-guided cycle tour of the art trail. Our Go Jauntly tours also include our favourite food and drink venues – nourishment for soul and body! As always, we offer a range of tools to explore all that KCAW and our participants have to offer: an interactive Culture Map (map.kcaw.co.uk), curated tours on Go Jauntly, our Guide and What’s On calendar. We have added QR codes to every Public Art Trail artwork, with interviews with the creators conducted by Piers Thomson of Portobello Radio, who will also enlighten you on the Art Bus – a four-hour drive along the Art Trail. KCAW began with a public consultation and was founded by a group of volunteering arts industry professionals. Since 2018, the Advisory Board have offered their knowledge, effort, experience, and care for the local community: the board supports all aspects of KCAW and expands year on year. Over 60 volunteers joined KCAW in 2021 and many are returning. Their local knowledge and dedication are what makes our festival amazing. The festival is not-for-profit. We pride ourselves on acting as a stepping stone for artists to enter the public art sector via our annual Open Call, for which over 150 submissions are received. With help from Kensington & Chelsea Council, we have added two extra months to the Art Trail exhibition period. So don’t worry if you are away during the week itself - you can still see the Trail until 31 August. I would especially like to thank our Advisory Board, our Sponsors, the 2022 Art Committee who selected the Art Trail finalists, our incredible KCAW team, and all participating venues, retailers, artists, creators, and sponsors without whose support we would not be able to encourage such an energetic and colourful return. What a treasure trove and packed programme we have for you this year. Enjoy!
Vestalia Chilton, Director KCAW.CO.UK KCAW.CO.UK
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