Artists ‘heartbroken’ after Art & Makers Market reduce opening

Westover Gardens Art & Makers Market, in Bournemouth Lower Gardens, is said to be one of the longest running open-air exhibitions in the country after launching over 60 years ago as Pine Walk.

It has been a space for artists to showcase their work including photographers, digital artists, sculptors and painters.

However, residents and visitors have noticed the lack of art and emptiness of Westover Gardens this summer.

Read more: Poole trio take over historic Art & Makers market in Bournemouth

Frances Coleman, an artist who has been displaying her work in the market for 25 years, wrote to the Echo to express her disappointment of the state of the market.

Hannah Dorban, Maea Craft, and Jesse Chissell (Image: Newsquest)

She said, since being managed by MakerSpace Markets earlier this year, the exhibition is only opened two weekends a month.

“This gallery is unique to Bournemouth no other town has this facility,” said Frances.

“It breaks my heart to see what it has become.”

A spokesperson for MakerSpace Markets said it noticed a decline in both makers and customers before it took over in June.

They said some days they only had three to four artists on site.

“Since we have taken over, we made the decision to reduce the market dates to twice a month with some specialty events,” said the spokesperson.

“We made this decision to maintain a sense of occasion when the market is held and ensure a more diverse amount of stallholders.”

MakerSpace Markets said the current economy means everyone has less money to be spending on arts, which they say is unfortunate.

However, they added, that the community continues to support them and that they have plans to host more events through the autumn season such as a renaissance fair and Halloween markets.

“It is such a shame that some artists who used to display their work here in the past do not feel it is a good fit for them anymore, we understand that some changes we have made are very new and will take some time to adjust, we feel confident they are the right choices and we are already seeing the benefits made to the site.”