What’s billed as ‘the biggest outdoor art festival in Europe’ is ignoring London and finding art within nature in Cumbria, as Barbara Hodgson discovers.

IT can be argued that art is everywhere and in everything and a resourceful few are able to find a wealth of it in our natural surroundings.

Sculptures of the world’s most famous buildings, made from natural materials such as sheep poo, will be playing a part in Cumbria’s annual art invasion – which the county says will be the biggest outdoor art festival in Europe.

From September 28 until October 14, various locations across Cumbria will host FRED, an annual festival of site-specific artworks, now in its fourth year.

This year’s plans have just been unveiled and, as well as the sculptures, highlights include thousands of sandcastles, a ring of bright water, strange and magical beings along a riverbank and a Ministry of Creative Parking.

Since 2004, the festival has brought more than 300 local, national and international artists to Cumbria, and hosted more than 100 projects.

Artist and festival director Steve Messam said: “FRED has always aimed to reach a range of audiences from tourists to locals to international art viewers.

“The FRED invasion is a rural response to the London-centric art world; it aims to raise the profile of the county as a hub and venue for contemporary art, not just a place for landscape painters and potters.

“And each year, across the county, works from FRED have more viewers than the Baltic centre in Gateshead.”

The unusual models of well-known buildings will be found in Great Langdale.

London-based artist Sally Barker says: “I will be making sculptures of recognisable architectural structures from around the world, such as the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building, near paths at Stickle Ghyll.

“They will be constructed from natural materials like grass, sheep droppings, soil, water and twigs that are found within a five-metre radius of the sculpture.

“The work discusses ideas about the relationship between people and places.”

And anyone who goes down to the woods in Kirkby Stephen will be in for a big surprise. Chinese architect William Chen and artist Mark Tynan will be creating a giant spider web-like creation of LED lights and electronic sensors.

The piece, ResoNet, will react and interact with the environment and the viewer. On display day and night for two weeks, it will explore boundaries between, nature, art, and technology.

Further north, artist Avril Douglas will be placing some curious creatures along a five-kilometre section of the Pennine Way that runs by a river from the village of Garrigill to Alston.

The figures, made from recycled materials, will be peeping from behind trees and walls or simply hanging around, watching visitors watching them.

Artist Paul Clark will be creating his ring of bright water in Morecambe Bay.

On September 29, he will dig a trench into the mud in the estuary. When the sea comes in, the trench will fill with water which will be left behind when the tide recedes.

From Blackstone Point near Arnside, people will be able to see the amazing sight of an apparently vertical circle that reflects the colour of the changing sky.

And festival director Steve himself will show his sandcastles work on St Bees beach. With the help of a small army of volunteers, he will fill the entire beach with 18,000 sandcastles, each sporting a red paper flag.

Like Paul Clark’s work, the sandcastles will eventually be reclaimed by the sea.

Finally, visitors to the market town of Penrith will be rewarded for their creative efforts to find a place to leave their vehicle.

Kate Gilman Brundrett’s Ministry of Creative Parking will put a “Pink Warden” on to the streets to find those motorists who use the most ingenious ways to get round the town’s tough parking restrictions.

Drivers will be given a pink parking-style ticket containing a lollipop and a certificate of their creative parking achievement.

FRED is supported by Arts Council England, Northern Rock Foundation and Cumbria Vision, as part of its commitment to developing events in Cumbria.

Val Brown, events programme manager at Cumbria Vision, said: “The reputation of FRED as a celebration of the creative arts continues to grow and we’re proud to support it.”

“It brings weird, wonderful and thought-provoking art to people’s doorsteps across Cumbria and is yet another demonstration of how the county’s rich arts and culture scene continues to evolve and excite.”

A festival guide will be available from the end of August and more information will be found at www.fredsblog.co.uk.