Do Something New in 2022
Bedford Urban Sketchers
The Bedford Urban Sketchers are a local chapter of global organisation Urbansketchers.org – a nonprofit dedicated to fostering a global community of artists (including beginners) who practice on-location drawing. They meet once a month in a new location with the mission to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing. They are a growing group of all ages, abilities and backgrounds who love to discover their surroundings through sketching. As they are Bedford based, they tend to stay fairly local, but locations might include museums, iconic buildings, or even residential streets. It’s amazing how many hidden details you can capture, usually missed by busy passers-by. New faces join every month, and members love talking about their techniques, materials and processes so even professional artists can be sure to learn something new. At the end of each meet up, they have a ’throwdown’ which consists of a sort of show and tell session of what they’ve been working on whilst having a much-deserved coffee and cake. To join the Bedford Urban Sketchers group and become part of a growing community, head to https://www.facebook. com/groups/bedsurbansketchers, or, you can email bedsurbansketchers@gmail.com to be kept in the loop. Meet ups are free and a brilliant way to connect with new people you wouldn’t normally meet. The next meet up will by Saturday the 8 January with the location still to be confirmed – it will be indoors! But do keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.
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Bedford National Trust Association – Your local association
Easy to find and with plenty of parking, the Bedford National Trust Association meet once a month at the Addison Centre in Kempston. Tea and coffee are served and there is a programme of talks covering a wide range of topics. Meetings take place in the afternoons (in January, February, March, September, October, and November). Outings to National Trust places and other properties, gardens and places of interest are arranged during the year along with spring and autumn holidays. They also organise an increasingly popular annual lunch. Membership is open to volunteers and members of the National Trust and to those interested in supporting the Trust. The annual subscription is £10 for the first member and £5 for additional members at the same address. A warm welcome awaits you at the Bedford Association, so why not come along and sample the friendly atmosphere of our group? Non-members are welcome at our talks at the Addison Centre, so you can ‘try before you buy’! For details of upcoming talks and more, take a look on the website at e-voice.org.uk/bedfordnt. Meetings begin again on Tuesday 18 January 2022. If you would like to get in touch, please call Robin Salter on Tel: 01234 261897 or email grrdrsalter464@gmail.com
