The largest arts festival on the island gets under way this weekend.

Taking place from Saturday until Monday, the 2018 Isle of Man Art Festival is a truly island-wide event, taking in 25 different venues and featuring the works of more than 45 artists, painters, sculptors and crafters working on the island.

Castletown will be providing some of the centre-piece attractions this year, with eight artists holding displays and workshops in the town civic centre.

Elsewhere in the town, there will be a Land art trail and cultural walk, beginning in Poulsom Park, Castletown, and will journey along the river to Ballasalla.

Created in conjunction with the 2018 Year of Our Island project, the trail will feature a mix of both temporary and permanent art installations, such as willow sculptures, and it is intended for the trail to grow and develop throughout the year.

Also down south, the Longhouse Collective, which is housed at the Grenaby Arts Studios, will feature some of the island’s best known artists, wood-turner Graham Hall and Nicola Dixon, alongside many other displays.

Laxey will see the largest collection of artists gathering under one roof, with work from 15 different painters and crafters including photographer Patricia Tutt, Myra Gilbert and the illustrator Julia Ashby Smyth all displaying at the Hodgson Loom Gallery.

The House of Mannanan and the Pilates studio on Peel’s East Quay will feature working displays by the likes of Dawn Kennaugh, Bruno Cavellec and Myra Gilbert amongst others, and Helen Fox, Ian Coulson and Pauline Berrie will be holding open studios in Kirk Michael and Glen Wyllin.

Myra Gilbert, from the Creative Network Committee said that she hoped that this year’s festival will inspire others to create themselves.

’We hope all our festival visitors have as much fun meeting the artists and seeing the variety of artwork on display, as our artists do taking part and coming up with their individual ideas,’ said Myra.

’It is thanks to the wholehearted support of the Isle of Man Arts Council that we can offer free entry to visitors at last.

’Many of us take inspiration and pleasure from working in the incredible environment we enjoy here on the island, and we love to share it with the public during this Isle of Man Art Festival.’

A full list of the venues is available at creativenetwork.im