Lower South West to light up with Southern Art and Craft trail kicking off at the end of this month

With the highly anticipated Margaret River Open Studios under way, the Lower South West is already looking towards the next arty affair as it gears up for the annual Southern Arts and Craft trail.

Kicking off on September 24, the trail will reach from Nannup to Lake Grace showcasing the work and talents of local artists across 55 different exhibitions, stalls, galleries and pop-ups.

While based largely in Western Australia’s Great Southern region, Lower South West towns including Nannup, Walpole and Denmark are also set to feature in the event.

Now in its 19th year, the annual event attracts more than 10 000 visitors with organising body Art South WA chair Merry Robertson saying a high number of visitors to the trail travel across from the South West.

“Looking at our yearly statistics there’s certainly a great contingent of people that come across from the South West to specifically visit the art trail,” she said.

“So we do get people that jump in the car, and they’ll come over for a few days ... and the people from Great Southern, or the outer people from this region, do the same thing, travel over to the South West.”

This year’s exhibition will also feature the works from 16 WA schools with two disability services also participating in the festival for the first time.

The trail will run until October 9, with a variety of bus tours available for patrons interested in visiting multiple stops along the trail.

More information is available at https://artsouthwa.com.au/southern-art-and-craft-trail/.