I’ve just returned home from a great day with the first “Thornton Art Trail”. This included, in a large number of venues, my own current exhibition at the South Square Centre. I’ve lost count of the number of venues which were eventually included in the trail, but I believe that when I last heard it amounted to fourteen. Give the fact that many venues featured displays by several artists I have no idea how many of us actually contributed. At the Centre itself I believe that there were at least a dozen individual displays. There was an incredible buzz about the place, and a constant flow of visitors. No doubt the organisers will be giving us an authoritative estimate at some point.
From my own point of view the day was a great success. I sold two pictures and a print and I have yet to work out how many greetings cards. The feedback I received was enormously encouraging. There will be a lot to digest in relation to this experience. One thing has occurred to me, however, and that is the superior attractiveness of a large event such as the Trail, in comparison with isolated, personal, exhibitions. It has involved a very large investment of time and energy in organising and promoting it. The return to individual participants, however, has been much greater than if we all mounted our own personal presentations. There’s a lot to think about there!