Our rich artistic heritage

If anyone were in doubt about the prolific talent which exists here, they should consider the Skipton Open Studios, organised by the Jersey Arts Trust, supported by a number of Island businesses and now in its sixth year. This weekend and next a total of 54 artists will be throwing open the doors of their studios to the general public, who will be able view works in all manner of media and genres. In addition, shipping containers placed at the Weighbridge are the location for demonstrations, workshops and other art-related events.

There will also be an opportunity to look behind the scenes at items in the Jersey Heritage collection which are not regularly on display. This, too, will confirm that Jersey is fortunate in being able to boast so many accomplished artists – past as a well as present.

Many Islanders will be familiar with the classic legacies of painters such as Ouless, Monamy and Le Capelain, but they are merely the tip of a very substantial iceberg which accommodates the likes of Arbuthnot, Kilpack and Sands. Edmund Blampied, meanwhile, merits a separate mention, not least because of his deft evocations of life in the Jersey countryside temps passé.

And tomorrow this wealth of visual art will be complemented by music, thanks to a festival which has been staged in more than 100 countries but is coming to the Island for the first time. Fête de la Musique will involve more than 30 acts, some of which will perform in unusual locations, such as on the Steam Clock.

These events, visual and musical, promise excellent free entertainment, but a discussion to be held at the Weighbridge ‘village’ next Wednesday may help to put them into their full context. A panel whose members will include Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, Deputy Rod Bryans and Jon Carter of Jersey Heritage will consider ‘Jersey and the cultural message’, with particular reference to Jeremy Deller’s apocalyptic vision of St Helier in flames, exhibited at the Venice Bienalle.