New Website, Algarve Society of Artists and Algarve Art! Magazine Launched

You might have been wondering what we have been up to lately as the blog has been a bit quieter than normal (sorry about that – normal service is resuming!) – well Alyson has been extremely busy with the exciting launch of new arts project here in the Algarve.

Her brand new ‘Algarve Art’ venture was launched here in the Algarve in the autumn, combining a new website promoting art and artists of all genres, a new Algarve Society of Artists, and a unique Algarve Art! quarterly online art magazine.

Heralding a new focus and online showcase for art in the Algarve, Alyson explains where the idea for this new venture came from:

“I am a professional artist working full time out here and I am married to a professional photographer. Over the last few years we have set up and managed a number of successful ‘Pop Up!’ style exhibitions of our work, and have also been increasingly drawn towards working with and supporting other artists out here. I know how difficult – yet ultimately rewarding – being an artist can be out here in the Algarve, and I have been toying with different ideas about how to support artists, based upon the good things that came out of a recent ‘Pop Up!’ Art exhibition for 10 artists that I organised earlier this year.

I also wanted to be able to draw artists together (no pun intended!) across a wide range of art and creative genres, and also liked the idea of putting together a quarterly promotional online magazine to showcase their work and highlight the wonderful art and exhibitions and events that happen across the Algarve.

There is always the need for good marketing and a strong web presence too, and I have met many artists out here who do not have their own website, so creating something that enabled them to have a unique URL to share with clients and customers was also an important consideration for me.

Art can be quite an isolating process and it can be great to step out of the studio and go and meet other artists and share ideas, tips and stories – and also learn from each other too, so adding an element of social get-togethers and networking was important to me too, and the creation of a Society for artists of all genres and abilities came out from these aims. Art can be a bit ‘snobby’ and I wanted to create something that was inclusive, friendly and inviting, that would encourage artists to share their work, learn from each other and support and champion art across the Algarve.”

The brand new website www.algarve-art.com and the new Algarve Society of Artists is the result of bringing all of these ideas together …

The New Magazine

This is a new quarterly online magazine brought to you free of charge to read and enjoy.

The magazine includes a host of articles and special features on artists here in the Algarve, together with information on upcoming events and exhibitions, classes and courses; and has already had brilliant reviews and feedback – and to date the first two editions have had over 135,000 page views in the first three months.

The second edition – Winter 2017 of the Algarve Art! Magazine – was launched on the 21st December. You can click the link here to read this free online:

Algarve Art! Edition 2 – Winter 2017

And the first edition was launched in October 2017 – you can read that here:

Algarve Art! Edition 1 Autumn 2017

Every member will also have a two page feature in a new publication – the ‘A to Z Algarve Artists’ which is an online resource showcasing all of our members and their work. This publication will also be linked to each magazine that is published.

You can view this publication online via this link – it is updated each time a new member joins:

A to Z Algarve Artists

We already have almost 100 members of the new Algarve Society of Artists, with new enquiries every day – and that is just in our first four months of launching the site. We also have a range of discounts, special offers and benefits available solely to our Members through a new membership card scheme too, and future plans include hosting Algarve Society of Artists exhibitions and events.

We have already linked in with the popular Tomorrow Magazine here in the Algarve, and every month one of our artists will have a 2-page feature in their Lagos edition, with a subsequent 1-page feature in their Portimão edition – Alyson was thrilled to find one of her paintings gracing the front cover of the January edition of the magazine this month:

You can click the link here to read the edition:

Tomorrow Magazine Portimão January 2018

And you can read the January Lagos edition via the link here which has a fab 2-page feature on one of our talented artists Kaye Miller-Dewing:

Tomorrow Magazine Lagos January 2018

The Algarve Art Website

For more information you can view the http://www.algarve-art.com website via this link:

www.algarve-art.com

The website is designed to be a focus for art and artists, and for everyone with an interest in art of all genres. You can find new art to enjoy – and purchase – you can commission a painting or portrait – find a graphic designer or mural artist, a specialist cake maker or furniture restorer through the Directory of artists; or browse the dedicated sections for events and exhibitions; and also find a direct link to the quarterly free magazine, which will always be full of art, features on artists, articles and events, and the latest art news for the Algarve.

The aim is to cover art of all types from art and paintings, digital art, stained glass, tile-painting, photography, printing, jewellery, ceramics and pottery, fabrics and textiles, furniture, cakes, quilting, sculpture, mosaics, hand-crafted gifts and art objects .. the list is a long one and growing all the time as new artists are discovered.

The first time that you visit the website you will be asked if you want to join our mailing list – please do complete this, or if you missed it (it will only appear once!) then just click on the Contact Us section of the website (bottom right of the page) and ask to join the Mailing list that way and we will add your details. Let’s make this as big as we can!

And of course we have a Facebook Page too! You can click the logo here to visit the page and give us a ‘Like’

The aim of all of this is simple – to bring together, encourage, support and promote artists and art of all genres across the Algarve.

We hope you enjoy it – and feel free to share all of the links here with your friends too.