Brentford’s Creative Mile

Friday 2 – Sunday 4 September 2022

Brentford is holding its second Creative Mile event – a walking trail from Kew Bridge to Johnson’s Island with artists’ work exhibited in locations along the way.

More than 70 artists are showing their work in eight venues over the mile long route during the weekend of 2-4 September.

Starting at the London Museum of Water & Steam, the trail takes in the Musical Museum, Studio Flox and Watermans Art Centre and winds its way down to the buzzing arts quarter on Catherine Wheel Road where you will find a hive of creatives spaces including The Loft, Duke of London, The Brentford Project space and Johnson’s Island.

Images above: Work by Claire Ireland, Derek Pearce, Neil Brown (Hot Metal Works), Máire Gartland and Neil Lemaire at the London Museum of Water and Steam

Sculptors, ceramicists, painters, jewellers, textile artists and metalworkers …

The London Museum of Water and Steam is home to several artists, including jewellers, ceramicists, a woodcarver, sculptor and furniture maker, a bronze caster and a blacksmith.

Artistic blacksmith Neil Brown creates beautiful objects from steel in his smithy, which is the oldest blacksmith’s in continuous use in London.

At the other end of the trail, Johnson’s Island is home to 16 art studios. The artists work in a range of mediums including painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, sculpture, mixed media, mosaics, jewellery, hat-making, music, writing, metalwork and ceramics.

The tiny island is interesting to visit just to see the higgledy-piggledy studios crammed into a space which was once used for the old station master’s and lock keeper’s offices. It originally formed part of Isambard Brunel’s Brentford Dock. Being able to peek into the studios and meet the artists is a treat.

Image above: Johnson’s Island

The artists who share the space describe it as: “a magical, creative space – where history, art and nature are woven together,” surrounded as it is by canal views with colourful narrowboats, herons and the occasional flash of a kingfisher.

Founding creative director ‘Mr Mr Pearce’ said:

“I originally got the idea of a Brentford art trail when I had a studio on Johnson’s Island. One of the things I noticed was how many people coming to our open studios would say that they had lived in the area for years and never knew we were there. This got me thinking about how we could increase awareness…”

Images above: Majoto Kushida, work by Jam Patel, Jean Terry, Julia Rosewood, Max Hatter and Angela Chan

Explore what is on offer at each of the locations on the Creative Mile website and then on foot over the first weekend in September. Friday 2 September from 6 – 9pm. Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 September from 11am – 5pm.

www.creativemile.org

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar

See also: Chiswick In Pictures exhibition Autumn 2022 -exhibition at the Clayton Hotel Chiswick

See also: Yeats sculpture to be unveiled Tuesday 6 September

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