SMEs and creative industry hosting Leamington festival

Friday 21st of May 2021 08:31 AM

A new and exciting indie festival bringing small business and the creative community together is set to take place in Royal Leamington spa town centre until May 31st.                                                       

Creative Leamington has partnered with local retailers and businesses to create an exhibition of some of the best local young talent from Leamington, Coventry and Warwickshire.

The public will be able to experience artwork showcased in shop windows and interact via QR codes linking to a new dedicated website and interactive map.

The website - developed by emerging tech company Blunt and Brave - will also provide shoppers with an opportunity to redeem voucher codes and offers in collaboration with the shops & spaces involved, creating a map of businesses that are providing both artistic engagement and opportunities to shop.

The festival has been designed to support businesses in their recovery from the pandemic by increasing footfall in the town centre. It will see the occupied and vacant retail window spaces turn into an open air art gallery for the public to experience whilst they shop and hopefully lead people to retailers they may have not come across before.

This year's festival will also shine a light on sustainability and how we can make things beautiful in a way that “does not cost us the earth” by creating a window display in partnership with students from Leamington Spa College and Warwick University, mentored by industry experts from TonyG and CBGC Industries.

We will be showcasing local musicians in our LYT Festival Sound Space at Nash White. We have created a playlist which crosses multiple genres including Grime, Indie, RnB and Spoken Word with artists such as John Bernard, Skatta, Alfie Amadeus and Vince.

“I’m really happy to be involved, this is such a good opportunity for me to showcase my music and have local people find me.” - Ridla Grime & UK Rap artist

As well as Nash White, visual artwork can also be found in shops such as Cenu Cacao, Rustic Food Co, Core, Basement Browns, Spa Town Coffee, Zero Store, Indigo, Freshly Ground Ink and many more which you will be able to find mapped out on our website.

Each shop will showcase a different artist across several artforms including Illustration, Fashion Design, poetry, painting with work from artists such as:

Gemma Grao, a contemporary artist based in Leamington Spa who paints as a passion and hobby. Her artwork includes a range of portraits, abstract pieces and murals.

TV Trev, a Black British photographer, film maker and community leader for Igers Coventry & Warwickshire. Trevor captures the world as he sees it to place his viewers inside the photos and videos. His work will make you feel as though you're really there!

And Jodie Fern, a jewellery designer who enjoys making classic pieces which can be worn whatever the season, and is inspired by the architecture and art of the places she visits whilst travelling. ​

“LYT has allowed me to meet so many local businesses, creatives and makers!” - Jodie Jeweller

The festival will also bring a taste of AR technology via a collaboration with local tech company RiVR, which will take over an empty retail unit in Royal Priors Shopping Centre.

LYT FESTIVAL is powered by Creative Leamington in collaboration with Blunt & Brave. We are sponsored by WCC Town Centre Tech Challenge fund and supported by our local partners: BID Leamington, Wareing & Co, Royal Priors Shopping Centre, WCG Leamington Spa College, RiVR and the University of Warwick’s Creative Futures Incubator

More information and a full list of artists and local businesses involved can be found via the LYT Festival website and by following us on social media