Discover Artists and Artisans at Masson Mills 1783

Masson Mills is hosting its first Artist and Artisan Fair over the Bank Holiday weekend 24th-26th May. The fair venue is one of the spinning rooms in Richard Arkwright’s iconic 1783 cotton mill, its wooden floors worn down by the feet of thousands of millworkers over two centuries.

25 local and regional fine artists and makers are showcasing unique quality work in a wide range of media including ceramics (Sylvia Glover, Gael Cherry, Helen Billingsley), painting  (Joan Wallington, Chris Ray, Laura Hyland), sculpture (Ian Patrick Palmer, Deborah Miles), glass (KJ Glass, Lisa Gilliver), textile design (Zoe Marsh), printmaking (Marie Keane, Karen Wicks), metalwork (Dawn Feeney), wood craft (David Moody), illustration (Karen Johnson), photography (Jeff Mander), mixed media (Fiona Disney, Jane Millum, Giedre Sadauskaite), botanical art (Erica Just, Anne Fletcher) and jewellery (Angie Hill), plus weaving demos by Masson Mills’ resident woven textiles expert, Sue Russell.

As well as browsing original creations, art lovers can meet the artists, discover more about their techniques and processes, find out about workshops, and even commission individual one-off pieces.

Sharing the Masson 1783 Wing spinning floor, the site-specific ‘Standing in this Space’ exhibition by Rachel Carter and the Legacy Makers group commemorates the millions of mill girls, African-American slaves and cotton plantation workers who underpinned the rapid growth of the East Midlands’ textile industries during the Industrial Revolution.

There’s free admission, tasty refreshments and barista coffee in the heritage café and visitor centre, easy access to the fair, and ample on-site parking just off the main A6 road.

Masson Mills form part of the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and are now home to a working textile museum (entry fee), a visitor centre, and event spaces. Fusing water-powered industrial heritage with innovative sustainable technology, the complex also houses the HQ of renewable energy specialist Derwent Hydro Power, with electricity generated direct from the River Derwent

If you’d like to make a day of it, numerous local attractions within walking distance include Matlock Bath, Heights of Abraham, Mining Museum; and Cromford village with its welcoming pubs, cafes/tearooms, galleries, Scarthin Books, Cromford Mills, and scenc walking/cycling along the Cromford Canal and the High Peak Trail.