Chew Valley Arts Trail goes global

What do Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Helsinki and Madrid have in common ? They were just some of the places from which people viewed this year’s Chew Valley Arts Trail online exhibition.

Whilst there was disappointment among the exhibitors that they couldn’t open their studios for the 18th annual promotion of their work, they were delighted that people were able to join in from further afield.

Organiser Sandy Bell said the web site statistics made for interesting reading, with people looking at the site from literally all around the globe, and more than half of them doing so on their phones.

“We had a thousand visits to the site and each exhibitor had more than 230 views of their individual page. For some people, especially those a bit off the beaten track, that’s actually more people looking at their work than they would have got with the conventional Trail.”

Exhibitors continued to make sales and those with their own sites reported an increase in traffic generated by the Arts Trail. Professional studios that were able to open in a safe and socially distanced manner remained popular.

“It was a very different year and we all missed having a chance to talk to people in person about our art. The Valley was also much quieter, without the buzz of visitors travelling around the area, looking at the art but then stopping off in our pubs, restaurants and cafes for refreshment.”

“But the main thing is we were able to run the event and continue to raise the profile of the brilliant talent produced by a wide variety of people in the Valley. We’ve had some really positive feedback, especially from new exhibitors who were keen to get themselves known.”

“We’ll keep the website online so anyone looking for an interesting Christmas present can go to www.chewvalleyartstrail.co.uk where you’ll find any number of interesting and attractive pieces,” said Sandy.