Each summer the creative energy that seems to hum through the Stroud Valleys is given form in the shape of the site festival. As the festival grows so it broadens its scope, increasingly bringing artists here to Stroud to participate, endorsing these valleys as a place of real artistic vitality. In 2008 there is more than ever to enjoy and take part in.

For many of us, the site festival is anticipated as our once-a-year chance to go to the Open Studios, and this summer over a hundred artists are participating, by far the largest number yet. The concept of open studios is a familiar and popular one. The open studio provides a glimpse into working lives that are often hidden from view, behind closed studio doors, in workshops and sheds, at kitchen tables. As it approaches the artist calls a temporary halt to normal life, clears and spruces up their workspace, decides what they wish their public to see, labels, prices and displays the work. Then doors are flung back to all curious or casual visitors, and we get to see where they work, what they make, and to talk to them about it. We might even feel enticed to buy or commission something, with all the pleasure of dealing directly with the artists themself. In return, the artist can show and sell their work, make new contacts, get valued feedback, before returning to their solitary toil. But if we look a bit more closely at what site08 opens up for us, we get a far more comprehensive, rounded and sustained insight into the real working practice of making art, an activity that goes on around us throughout the year and has real value.

We see how artists on placement at Gloucester Royal Hospital bring to light the daily behind-the-scenes work of staff there, and the value of bringing art into such environments for staff, for patients and their visitors.
Artists working from and with the landscape invite us to participate and consider its role in our lives. This not only reflects Stroud’s geographic and historic location, but also links a traditional genre to wider current debates about the role and future of green spaces. Artists working in local schools show our children that art can be serious fun, that everyone can get involved, and The Carnival procession will be a celebration of their exuberant creativity.

The site08 darbyshire award supports the work of contemporary artists and will bring exhibitors from across the country to show their work here. Darbyshire’s is involved with the contemporary art market at the highest level, with production based here in the Stroud valleys. The award-winning artist will be able to draw on the company’s expertise and services, culminating in their own exhibition.

We can see the role artists have in showing us what might otherwise remain hidden, or unexpressed. Art is about communication, another viewpoint, looking again, seeing for the first time. What is that worth?
Crucial to any thriving artistic community is their participation in the broader context of life beyond the studio, as is amply demonstrated by site08. But behind this, there is also the role artists play in supporting each other’s practice, discussing and challenging, taking their work forwards. This too is a vital part of the festival’s activities, the talks and discussions being the clearest example, but site08 also offers chances for artists to collaborate, develop specific projects and stretch themselves.

The site festival happens because of the vision and energy of an extraordinary artist-led organisation, based at Stroud Valleys Artspace (SVA). Year round it offers support to artists, promotes challenging projects, forges links nationally and internationally, hosts a programme of diverse events, invites discussion and debate. This summer’s site08 programme may lay claim to being the most exciting and ambitious they have yet organised, and one that a much larger, national arts organisation could be proud of.

I believe site08 offers a model of how artists can support creative activity, how they contribute to the life of our communities, and sustain the vibrant contemporary arts for which this country is justly known. This is what marks out site08 as far more than simply a celebration of local talent. And Stroud is a far from ordinary local town.

Jean Boyd Artist and Lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire