The following article is by our Art Editor John Fitzpatrick

Arguably, Hatfield has been in decline since the early nineties, following the loss of its aeronautical industry. As actress Stella Adler once said, “Life beats you down and crushes your soul. Art reminds you that you have one.” So, I looked for Hatfield’s arts to remind us of the town’s soul. They weren’t easy to find.

During the Second World War, Winston Churchill’s finance minister said Britain should cut arts funding to support the war effort. Churchill’s response: “Then what are we fighting for?

A simple online search for “art Hatfield” didn’t return much. Apart from a chap called Art Hatfield, I discovered a music school in the Birchwood area. I also found an art tutor, June Coppings, who has been running classes in Hatfield for over 20 years.

June confirmed my fears about art in Hatfield when I asked her to explain what is happening locally, “not much” was her stark reply. Her classes have been a different matter, with regularly full classes running at her home for a number of years. She re-counted the story of one of her students, a 90 year old widower, who found a love of for art. “It shows that age is no barrier and art is for everyone, “June explained.

To find work by local artists on display in the town is not easy. However, this doesn’t mean that art can’t be found. Our most prestigious venue, Hatfield House, has just hosted a ceramics festival, Art In Clay, from 5th to the 7th August. Hatfield House also has the world’s largest display of Henry Moore sculptures until the end of September this year. Elsewhere, Mill Green museum is displaying its decorative and fine art collections until early September.

These exhibitions do not give an airing to artists from Hatfield. And this is just fine arts. There are other aspects to the arts. There is dance, drama, photography and music, to name just a few. I just struggled to find them in Hatfield. To find out more about the existence of the arts in Hatfield, I need your help. If you are an artist in any sense of the term, get in touch. We want to find out what is happening in the town and to tell everyone about it.