For media info contact Matthew Shelley – 07786 704299 Matthew@ScottishFestivalsPR.Org
Around 4,000 visitors are expected for this weekend’s McInroy & Wood Borders Art Fair where more than 80 artists and galleries will be showing a huge array of paintings, drawings, ceramics, digital art and printmaking.
Among them will be artists from The Borders including June Bell, Moy Mackay and Becca Thorpe – plus many others from across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Taking place at The Borders Event Centre, Kelso, from 13-15 March, the Borders Art Fair (BAF) provides lots to see and do with free morning demonstrations in the Artists at Work area, plus the popular Doodle Wall where visitors can show off their own artistic talents.
The team from Allanbank Arts will be running free afternoon workshops. In one you can help create a triptych showing Borders landmarks all made from recycled materials. Another gives you the chance to let you imagination soar, making birds and flying creatures of every kind from paper.
One of the more unusual exhibiting artists visitors is Moy Mackay who has developed a technique she calls felted painting, which uses dyed but unspun wool fibres from merino sheep which are built up in layers, to create vivid landscape pictures – often of the Borders.
Moy, who has a gallery in Peebles, said: “From a distance my work looks like paintings, and it’s only as people get closer they realise they are something quite different.
“The merino has a lovely quality – they are the finest fibres you can work with and the results are beautiful.
“I have painted all my life and have a love of crafts and is a way I can combine the two, with an approach that has a fine art aesthetic but is also based in craft.”
Moy, who is currently writing her fourth book on felted painting, will be showing a series of landscapes, mostly of Borders and West Coast scenes.
She has been taking part in BAF since its earliest years and believes the quality of art on display “easily matches” that of better-known fairs elsewhere in the country.
Landscape and still life painter Becca Thorpe went to BAF as a visitor last year but is back in 2026 as an exhibitor.
She said: “I was blown away by the quality and variety, it felt better than any of the shows I had been to or taken part in in the past. I wanted to be a part of it.”
Becca, who works in oils, moved to the Borders in 2025 and likes the quiet and wildness. Her paintings have a particularly vivid quality, reflecting Becca’s aim of trying to evoke the emotions we feel in special moments and places.
A third Borders artist, June Bell, also has a highly distinctive style and technique.
She said: “I work mainly in beeswax and oil as I love the freedom of experimentation in the knowledge I can scrape or melt it off if not working, which occasionally leaves interesting results.
“I am drawn to the natural world, particularly trees and birds, and seek ways of incorporating the female form into imaginary settings, trying to represent the ancient connection between humans and nature in a poignant and evocative way.”
From further afield is Kim Whitby, the winner of the BAF Artist Residency 2026 at the Hugo Burge Foundation.
Throughout February she swapped her home in the Malverns for the Old Squash Court Studio, one of the Hugo Burge Foundation studios at Marchmont Estate, near Duns, before exhibiting her work at Borders Art Fair.
Frances Fergusson, Director of the Borders Art Fair, said: “We really try to offer a great experience for visitors, with a huge variety of contemporary art of every kind, plus the chance to meet the artists, watch demonstrations, take part in workshops and enjoy some superb food.
“It’s fun, it’s family friendly – and we look forward to welcoming everyone.”
The fair starts at 10am daily, ending at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Friday and Sunday – visitors are asked to pay what they can afford to support next year’s event.
Visitors can relax and refuel at the indoor food village, where there will be food vans packed with all sorts of tempting treats.
There’s also a great selection of restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars within walking distance. Kelso also offers hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and country cottages to rent.
Visitors can enjoy much more than just BAF as the Borders has picturesque beaches, seaside villages and dramatic headlands, stately homes, mountain bike trails and the rolling hills – promising something for everyone.
See www.bordersartfair.com and follow BAF on social media for the latest updates.
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Notes for Editors
Further information
For more about BAF visit www.bordersartfair.com.
To contact BAF call 07803 012620 or email info@bordersartfair.com.
For more about the artists
Georgina Bown www.georgina-artist.co.uk
Kirsten Boston https://kirstenboston.com
Sandra Vick www.sandravick.co.uk
For media info contact Matthew Shelley – 07786 704299 Matthew@ScottishFestivalsPR.Org