Despite the expectations following the successful roll out of the UK vaccination programme, there is still much uncertainty about when large-scale events can be safely organised.

To prepare for a successful Patchings Festival, time and certainty are essential, allowing the many talented artists, makers and companies we introduce to you each year to prepare themselves for the largest and best-known outdoor art event in the country. Normally preparations begin in September for the following year. With this deadline well behind us and no information about the protocols, social distancing or the availability of cancellation insurance, regrettably it is necessary to postpone the festival, originally scheduled for July 8 to 11, 2021.

We are very disappointed but please be assured that we are all ready and waiting to present the Patchings Festival in 2022.

Meanwhile, working closely with our friends at The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines we have extended the entry deadline for this year’s TALPOpen Competition to June 3, 2021, allowing for two exhibitions, usually opening with the festival, to take place in our two main galleries. These are likely to be the first major exhibitions of our 2021 programme, making the occasion very special when we open them on August 21, running until September 26, 2021.

But there is more . . . looking ahead to 2022 and a bumper Patchings Festival we are announcing details for next year’s event during the TALP Open exhibitions at Patchings with a two-day Patchings Festival 2022 online launch on September 2 and 3. This will be an opportunity to meet and hear from our headline artists and contributors, through live and broadcasted presentations - all free from the comfort of your home – and to purchase tickets for next year’s Patchings Festival from July 14 to 17, 2022. We are grateful to those who have carried forward their tickets from last year and confirm these will remain valid for our 2022 event. 

We are excited about our future plans and sharing these events with you all.

We wish you all well. Liz, Pat and Chas, Rachel, Gary and Daisy