Artist in Residence Exhibtitions

My Story: Artist in Residence is a community arts project that provides low or no cost access to art in Hertfordshire Libraries. Over the last 20 months we have presented residencies across 15 libraries and have 4 to go.

You can still get involved and explore your creativity at Oxhey Library in March and April, Ware Library in April and May and Hitchin Library in May. Exhibitions for all remaingin residencies are open to all will show a variety of work created by Artists in Residence and workshop attendees.

Saturday 29th March, 4-6pm – Bishop’s Stortford Library
Robyn Wilson Owen will be launching her ‘Alternative Town Map and Guide’. During her residency she has visited 8 schools and offered a wide variety of creative skills in the library. Collaborating with local residents and workshop attendees, her residency encouraged people to add their favourite spots, hidden gems, alternative advertisements and more to a new guide of Bishop’s Stortford. This guide will amplify local voices and feature written, drawn, painted and printed contributions from residents of all ages.

Tuesday 22nd April, 2-4pm – Oxhey Library
Abigail Lagden of Curiously Contrary will be unveiling her ‘100 Years’ sculpture as well and launching her ‘Fantastic Fungi’ trail. Over the course of her residency, she has (and will) explored fabric sculpture techniques and encouraged people to find their creativity in the fantasy. With the local community, she has made gonks, mushrooms, wands, garden stakes and more. Her final collaborative sculpture and mushroom trail will be installed until the end of May.

Saturday 31st May, 10am-3pm – Ware Library
Published illustrator, author and animator, Luke Newell, will be our Artist in Residence at Ware Library. In April and May, he will be teaching basic drawing techniques to adults and children to inspire creativity through drawing. His collaborative project will invite people to complete a simple storyboard of a character walking through a favourite spot or a local haunt in Ware. He will then cleverly combine all contributions into a final ‘Ware Shall We Wander’ animated video to champion the town.

Saturday 21st June, 2-4pm – Hitchin Library
Alexa Loy will be Artist in Residence at Hitchin Library in May. Her residency will encourage people to have a go at different sketching, printing, and painting skills to reimagine the historical ‘Hycchyn’ mural with a 2025 twist. Each of her workshops will focus on a different panel of the mural to incorporate current local stories. Alexa will combine each piece of art created during the residency into a large mural that will hang in the library entrance for all to see.

For more information visit https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/libraries-and-archives/news-and-campaigns/my-story.aspx