Penistone is bringing residents hidden talents to light during their third consecutive running Penistone Arts Week.
The Art Fest, starting tomorrow, will display local art all around the village during next week.
Chrissie Yates, Chair of Penistone Arts Week (pictured above), said: “The whole point is to bring the community together to showcase who lives amongst us. I suspect every small village, small market town like we are in Penistone, has a plethora of fantastic and creative people that often don’t get the chance to show how brilliant they are.”
She said: “The local vet, a wonderful old guy, had no idea he could paint. The most beautiful stuff. And they are so grateful that someone wants to display their artwork.”
The highlight of Penistone Arts Weeks is their window art gallery, displayed by shopkeepers along the whole street.
Mrs Yates said: “Two years ago I was walking down the highstreet with my husband and I said I wish there was a place where I could have a brilliant art exhibition, and my husband said why don’t you ask the shopkeepers to use the highstreet shop windows and do an art gallery.
“I put a callout to social media and asked whether there were any local artists who wanted to display their art on the high street. And 12 amazing women turned up.”
This year, Penistone now has 31 highstreet shops displaying art and nearly 40 artists, between the ages of 30 and late 70s.
Mrs Yates said: “It’s been really really powerful and really wonderful because it’s gelling people together.
“Particularly certain women who have had all sorts of issues, and have had to lose themselves in their art, and they have found each other and are now supporting each other
and are now supporting each other through those things, that has been a wonderful offshoot of the arts week.”
The idea of an Arts Week occurred after Penistone set up a literature festival for two years in 2014.
Mrs Yates said: “After it ended, the organisers managed to secure English dramatist, Willy Russell, and didn’t want to turn him away so someone thought of setting up a festival for a week, this time not just for literature.”