LETTER: Council grants are so important

Bexhill Art Society (BAS) would certainly not be able to continue holding its Annual Exhibition on August Bank Holiday Weekend at the De La Warr Studio without the grant it receives from Rother District Council, to whom we are most grateful.

With a membership of 110 our society’s income is limited. Each year the cost of hiring the Studio increases and gradually the grant from Rother DC decreases.

In a concerted effort to reduce costs, rather than employ the De La Warr staff to do the hanging of the paintings, after being given advice by the staff we have done the hanging of the paintings ourselves. We also transferred the preview from Friday evening to the Saturday morning thereby saving more than a day’s expenses.

We have used the Studio since it was built. No other purpose built gallery is large enough to display over 140 paintings. This year we had nearly 1,000 visitors during the three days of the exhibition, last year we had 840; other venues were tried prior to using the studio but the number of visitors was far less, we do not charge for visitors to enter.

The society formed in 1961 with the aim to encourage local artists to meet together once a month and to feel confident enough to display their work to the public.

I am sure our society is not alone when we say we do hope that we continue to receive a grant from RDC.

Roy Cox

BAS chairman

Newlands Avenue

Bexhill

Have you checked out our new Christmas section yet?

It’s packed with ideas and tips to ensure you make the most out of the festive season.

There’s recipes, suggestions for presents and everything from choosing your tree to recycling your packaging and paper.

Go to www.bexhillobserver.net/christmas/