Our Making A Mark event this year although successful, did not go quite as we had originally planned due to Covid-19 lockdown measures and having been postponed from 2020. Some of the activities could no longer go ahead and some artists could not take part while others were no longer practical or possible, so a complete rethink was needed. The participating artists were fantastic, in most cases adapting their proposals to meet some ever changing guidance as we waited until just a few weeks before the planned date before things could be finalised. We are very grateful to them for their flexibility and support and for being part of such a fantastic event on July 17th.
Worldwise Samba Drummers lead the parade through Preston City Centre on Saturday 17th July as part of Making A Mark 2021. They received second place in the public vote for the favourite activity on the day and were followed by dozens of people as they marched through the city, holding up the traffic down Fishergate and then down to the main road and back up through Friargate to the Harris Museum and Gallery.
At the recent Making A Mark event on Preston Flag Market, we asked visitors to leave their feedback and to vote for their favourite artistic activity or installation. We had an amazing response, with lots of very positive feedback so huge thanks to everyone who filled in and left their feedback forms. Over 98% of visitors said they would attend a similar event in the future with over a third mentioning the lovely atmosphere. We were very lucky with the weather however and being the first event as lockdown lifted that no doubt helped.
The results have been checked and verified and we are delighted to announce the winners are:
At Oxheys we have always firmly believed in community and making or facilitating art in the community is what we do and what we enjoy. In the lead up to our Making A Mark event on Preston Flag Market on 17th July 2021, some of our artists ran workshops in the community which were even more important when so much activity had stopped due to the pandemic.
Evelyn and Caroline ran two pre-event workshops at Preston Market and covered various book making, card making and related subjects. An unexpected opportunity then let them run two more workshops, one at the community cafe in Ashton, which was a great venue and was welcome as not much activity had been taking place in the area due to the pandemic.
Thank you. A huge thank you to Preston, the City Council, all the wonderful artists and everyone who joined us and took part in this wonderful day on Saturday. It was the biggest and most successful Making A Mark event which was fitting as we celebrated it’s 5th anniversary in Oxheys’ 10th anniversary year. What a day!
After months of uncertainty due to the various changing coronavirus restrictions, we are excited to confirm that Making A Mark will definitely be taking place this year on the Flag Market in Preston City Centre on Saturday July 17th 2021 11am til 4pm. Whilst some restrictions are still in place, after close discussion with Preston City Council it was felt that, providing everyone exercises common sense and respect for others and providing certain considerations were taken into account that the event could still take place.
Still entitled “Changing World” it couldn’t be more relevant – our world has certainly changed in the time since this event was first planned and sadly, not all of the activities originally planned can go ahead and not all of the artists who were originally booked are able to take part. However, artists are nothing if not creative so some whose original plans couldn’t go ahead due to the restrictions, have rethought and replanned their activities so that they can still be part of it. Those who sadly have been unable to do so will hopefully be able to join with us for a future event.
After some discussion with Preston City Council we are pleased to advise that the new date for our Making A Mark event for 2021 has been confirmed as Saturday 17th July. Previously we advised this was to be on the 10th July but has since had to be changed due to coinciding with another event scheduled for that day. So Saturday 17th July it is – we hope to see you then, by which time we all hope the current restrictions will have been lifted.
Despite the restrictions causing the postponement of this year’s flagship annual art event Making A Mark, supported by the Arts Council and Preston City Council, Oxheys has been busy ensuring Preston’s art scene has remained active within the constraints and in a safe and secure way.
2020 has been a unique year with unique challenges, yet has also provided opportunities and examples of communities coming together in ways not previously thought possible but in ways that show that community spirit is alive and well, opening up possibilities for the even greater challenges we all face from climate change. Little could we have known the scale and immediacy in the truth of the chosen theme “changing world” for the Making A Mark event, now postponed til 10th July 2021
We are very excited to advise that 10th July 2021 has been confirmed by Preston City Council, who have also reconfirmed their support for the event. The Arts Council have also confirmed support so our previously agreed funding can be transferred to this new date which is a great relief and means we can begin planning again. The event, originally planned for July 2020 had to be postponed due to the Coronavirus lockdown and subsequent restrictions meant everything was put on hold.
We are now working on revising some of the plans and reworking the budget and will be in contact shortly with those artists who had previously submitted proposals before lockdown.
We plan to try and keep to the same theme as initially planned but it may of course be interpreted slightly differently in view of recent events.
The theme for Making A Mark 2020, now postponed until 2021, was Changing World. Who could have guessed just how relevant that would prove to be? The world has changed in so many different ways over the past few months for every one of us – we are all living by different rules, in different ways, some in different places.
When Oxheys’ artist Tim Saunders took delivery of the 250 trees he had ordered pre-lockdown for his Changing World installation, he started re-imagining some alternative options. The result was an intervention that took place on Sunday 31st May 2020 on the deserted Flag Market, all in full compliance with lockdown guidance and regulations.
