“An energetic vibrant atmosphere kept the RAW arts festival alive from the private view till the end of the show. Although the weather wasn’t favourable at many times during the week, but it was good to see all the artists come together and be available to interact with the visitors and the rest of the artists.

The varying styles of work really made it a treat for the visitors as its truly a rarity to see so much work, all representing different forms of art, such as automatic drawing (also known as ideomotor) to collective art done by people with epilepsy.

I enjoyed every moment of exhibiting, from the interaction with the visitors to the music sessions with the other artists. It was fun to paint collectively there too, as well as to see some artists do their own work. There was so much to see and take in, but most definitely worth exhibiting and coming for a visit.”

“I feel very inspired by the amazing art that I saw at this years RAF. Having exhibited both years I think it has really blossomed this year and grown into an extraordinary movement. I met some wonderful people / artists who I hope to exhibit with in the future.

The exhibition had a tremendous energy about it that was both intoxicating and ecstatic. All the artists I spoke to particularly enjoyed the well organised and packed preview. This festival is really growing in size and stature and promises to be something quite wonderful”and extraordinary. I'm very glad to have been involved.

There were works which were done with oil paints, black-ink pen, spray-paint, nail-polish, photography and acrylic or poster paint. One of the most striking artworks was a huge wall-sized painting of a woman by Yvonne Mabs Francis, and equally striking were the large excessively intricate pen drawings by Judith McNicol. Ben Reche also had impressive intricate pen drawings and Piers Midwinter had delightful paintings, in striking colours, of wondrous beings. David Magitis produced haunting works of fantastic art, while Elizabeth Turnbull’s colourful paintings of women reflected both her joy and alienation.

In a different mode were the very memorable and amazing brightly-coloured women made by Sue Kreitzman, which were covered in buttons and assorted found objects. Gillian Gordon brought along her beautiful embroidered wall-hangings and collages, while there were innovative wire sculptures, which were turned with a winder, by Valentin Minz. Very eye-catching were the wonderful items made from clay by Vera Freire, especially some crazy dogs. Andru Fijalkowski had remarkable sculptures, which seemed to be like surrealistic tribal heads and torsos, and were decorated with pieces of ostrich eggs (amongst other things). Joel Crespin had superb brightly coloured works which were built up with modelling.

Amongst the other interesting artwork were the lyrical paintings by Lisa Kilty, the automatic drawings done by Aster and the brightly coloured pieces by Eric Benetto. Steve Davids’ crazy figures, and Pauline Jones’ remarkable fantastical paintings, were also memorable. There were so many more artists who I haven’t mentioned, who all contributed wonderful works.

It was great to have been part of the 2005 festival, as I had been unable to attend the first one in person. I particularly enjoyed meeting the other artists, and I was very glad that I could spend so much time on site. While I was there, I worked on a detailed drawing, and each day people came along to see how it was developing. That made it all the more meaningful, and enabled me to make a contribution to the festival’s diversity. Everyone who attended felt that it had been a very worthwhile event, and so thank you Piers for having organized it!"

02/06/2005

“It was a great honour and pleasure to have participated in the 2005 Raw Arts Festival. The quality and substance of the artwork present was extraordinary and unique. Meeting fellow international artists with the same passion and intensity was a thrilling experience, making connections and friends at once. Piers gave all of us "fringe" artists an opportunity to share our work in one of the most exciting cities in the world. I have returned home with revitalized inspiration and creative juices flowing, and I look forward to future opportunities to work with all of the fabulous artists that exhibited. Thanks again Piers, for one of the best experiences of my life!

I could ooze on and on, but I hope that says it all - I really did have an amazing time and I am thinking BIG thanks to you!! We WILL be in touch and I will get to work ASAP on finding CT galleries for you and possible spaces for a US-RAF.”

“It was a good exhibition, in the future you can focus even more on quality because it was a generally “high level” among the participants. You should go on making a tradition!”