Art and business have much to offer each other; they potentially have much more in common than people realise. As Oswestry moves towards the challenge of a new identity amidst rapid economic and social change, The Art Works project hopes to explore ways in which artists and businesses in a market town might face that challenge together. We’re keen to create new kinds of links between local artists and local businesses that move beyond simple exhibitions in shops and workplaces. 

Could art and business create a new kind of local workforce through innovations in training and skill exchange? How might the business of art open up new markets, shape the potential of communities and diversify local economies?

Working with the local business community in Oswestry – working alongside the Oswestry Chamber of Commerce, for example – Inside Out has been encouraging collaborations between individual artists and local businesses. Some of these collaborations have been very simple and small-scale – an artist taking time to visit and sketch in a workplace, for example. Other collaborations are developing into more complex relationships between the artist, business owners, employees and customers/clients. In all of these projects we’re asking everyone to think about lessons that art and business as a whole might take from their experiences.

We’re continuing to look for artists, entrepreneurs, property and business owners, traders and employees interested in building new kinds of working partnerships between art and business – and building a new kind of future for Oswestry.

If you’ve got ideas, we’d like to hear from you. Post a comment here with your email address and we’ll get in touch.