How much does it cost to take part as an Open Studios Artist?
Fees range from £43.50 (for a Young Artist sharing with 5 or more artists, doing payback scheme) to £226 (full price, not sharing with anyone, and not doing payback scheme).
For more information about fees, find the Fees page.
Full Fee : £226 per artist : 1 x artist (£198 + £28 membership fee)
2-4 artists : £203 per artist: (£175 + £28 membership fee) 10% discount
Sharing 5+ artists : £187 per artist: 5 or more artists (£159+ £28 membership fee) 20% discount
Discount for Young Artist (under 25) : 50% discount off above
What are the 2024 Artist Bursaries?
We are offering 5 Artist Bursaries for artists aged 30 and under, to work with an established artist mentor.
The bursary will include:
a fully funded Open Studios registration, with the value of £226.
mentor match with an established OS Artist
shared studio space with the mentor (should you need it)
and the opportunity to use the Site Festival platform to further your art practice and visability.
Registration for bursaries are open until Thursday 15th February at midday, and you can find more info on the Bursary page.
What is the Artists Network?
By participating in Open Studios you will also become an SVA Member for a year, and your work can be publicised on our the Artist Network website.
Anybody who is a visual artist and becomes an SVA Member can have their profile on our Artist Network website, meaning that there is an online source of information for other artists and for the general public.
You can choose the image to include, and the information to include, and it’s another great way to add to your online presence. You can find more information about SVA membership at www.sva.org.uk.
How will I receive communication from SVA about Open Studios?
We primarily communicate via email, using a mailing list. We sometimes find that artists don’t always receive their emails, so it’s best to check your spam folder. If you haven’t heard anything within the first 2 weeks of sending your registration, please get in touch with us.
If communicating via email is likely to be a barrier, then do let us know.
What is the Taster Exhibition, and do I have to take part?
The Taster Exhibition is an exhibition shown during Site Festival, where all Open Studios are encouraged to submit a piece of work. It offers visitors a great opportunity to see one piece of work by each of the Open Studio artists to help plan studio visits over the two weekends and we’ve found that sometimes an artist will get more visitors from having their work on show there.
The exhibition is organised and curated by 2-3 Open Studios artists, and is a joint effort, so we really recommend that everyone takes part.
Not sure if you’re sharing, or not sure how many people?
Don’t worry! On the form there’s the option to tell us, however you will need to pay the full fee and then be refunded the difference. We aim to refund you within 10 working days of you informing us.
So, for example, if you're based at a larger studio such as Victoria Works or Three Storeys, but you're unsure if it will be 2-4 artists, or 5 or more artists, you should pay the £220 fee and be refunded the difference when you confirm how many will be in your group.
Do you have a space you’ll like to share for Open Studios? Let us know on the form and we will put you in touch.
Can I come to SVA for help with my form?
Someone in the SVA office can be available to help with completing your registration form.
Please email kazz@sva.org.uk with a time you'd like to come in, to make sure someone can be available, and feel free to mention any access needs.
Don’t forget to bring your images on a device (with a cable to connect it to a computer), and payment card. If possible, take a look at the form first to see what information you will need to know beforehand, and what you might need to bring.
What’s the difference between taking part as an Open Studios artist, and having a Listing and Feature?
As an Open Studios artist you get :
A profile in the directory about you and your work
SVA Associate membership for the year; with addition to the Artist Network website and other benefits.
To take advantage of the Payback Scheme, where you can get up to £50 of your fee paid back to you for doing up to 5 hours work.
To take part in the Taster Exhibition.
With a Listing and Feature you get :
A profile with information about an exhibition specifically, within the main part of the directory. It’s in the same format as the Open Studios artists so that the design flows well. It also flows in terms of the route, so that visitors can find it easily on the map. There is still the restriction of 165 characters for the description however, so there isn’t much room to mention individual artists.
A listing in the back of the directory with full information about the exhibition.
An online listing in the Events section of the Site Festival website.
Your registration fee and membership is included in your studio rent, however you still need to:
complete the registration form before the 14th of February so that we have up-to-date artwork and information for you.
You will still need to include your studio address, and if you can include your studio number it would be a big help.
Look out for the email from us about how to do the form
I’m an artist at SVA; how do I register for Open Studios?
How can I make the most of Open Studios?
Come to an Open Studios social to stay in the loop, meet others and ask questions
Arrange a chat with Kazz, Jessy or Jo for guidance
Find the social media and publicity advice that will be sent out
Find proactive ways to get advice from fellow artists
You should register for Open Studios and insert 'TBA' in the address section. On the registration form is a question which asks : “Do you have a space to share, or are you looking for a space to use for Open Studios? Let us know here and we will put you in touch”.
We’re hoping to connect artists, plus we work with lots of different artists and partner organisations, so there may be a space for you in a mill building, empty shop or another artist's studio for example.
What if I don’t have a studio?
When will I get my money back for the Payback Scheme, and how?
You’ll be refunded to the bank card you paid with, and we aim to pay people for the Payback Scheme within one month of the work being completed (and/or once we’ve seen proof, such as a completed timesheet).
The support work doesn’t have to be completed during the busy Open Studios period, it can be completed before or afterwards.
On the Payback Scheme page you will find a range of Payback Roles that we are looking to fill for 2024, so let us know on the registration form which ones you would like to apply for.
Can I meet other Open Studios Artists?
We host regular Open Studio Socials - usually an informal meeting at SVA, and they are a great chance to meet others. It’s a really good opportunity to meet others who may be on the same route as you, and share ideas.
We email information about these socials and on our social media, so keep an eye out, but feel free to contact us with any questions.
How do I save my Registration form?
We use Jotform for the registration form, and they have a ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the form. There are images for this tutorial on the Registration Guidelines page.
Once your email address is on the form, which is one of the first questions, you can save the session. Head to the bottom of the page and find the ‘Save’ button.
You can either create a Jotform account (with Google, Facebook, or with an email address) or the smallest writing at the bottom of the message says “Skip Create an Account”
Once you’ve clicked that option, it should say “Your form has been saved as a draft” and you can enter your email address to send it to yourself.
Check your emails (especially check the spam folder because it might go in there), and you can continue the form another time. Hooray!
Need more help?
If this is the first time for you we may be able to offer in-house advice, technical advice and some support to make it easier for you. Please email kazz@sva.org.uk.