Somerset Art Weeks 2012 Open Studios Event
Saturday 15th to Sunday 30th September 2012
1. What is Somerset Art Weeks?
2. What is an Open Studios Event?
3. Who can take part in Art Weeks 2012 Open Studios Event?
4. What is the fee to take part?
5. How can organisations and public venues be part of Art Weeks 2012?
6. What does the participant get from SAW?
7. What are Area Representatives? What will he/she do for you?
8. How does SAW promote Art Weeks 2012?
9. How does SAW develop audiences for Art Weeks? What is the educational and audience development programme this year?
10. What are you expected to do as participant?
11. What is the registration deadline? Where you can get the registration form?
12. How can you make sure you have registered successfully?
1. What is Somerset Art Weeks?
Since its inception in 1994 Art Weeks has become an important event in Somerset's calendar delighting art lovers from near and far. Due to increasing popularity and growth the decision was made in 2007 to turn the festival into an annual two week event with an alternating focus of Open Studios in 2008, 2010, Events and Exhibitions in 2009 and 2011. 2012 returns to Open Studios.
2. What is an Open Studios Event?
The Open Studios Event is about drawing Art Weeks back to its roots, focusing on individual artists in their working environment. It focuses on artists as individuals, how they make their work, their inspiration and creative processes. It aims to support artists who want to work professionally and promote their creative business.
The last Open Studios Event took place in 2010, from 18th September to 3rd October. A total of 285 artists took part in 210 venues. We recorded more than 50,000 visitors and nearly £450,000 sales made across the venues. Below are examples of feedback received from visitors and participating artists:
"The opportunity to meet and talk to artists in their studios and learn so much about what they do is one of the best parts of Art Weeks. Looking at an exhibition gives you only one dimension of the creativity involved." – Art Weeks Visitor
“It was a most enjoyable experience. The number of visitors I had enabled me to have worthwhile conversations about my work. I was also able to make several pieces of work and demonstrate and explain my methods. Financially it was very successful.” – Art Weeks Participating Artist
3. Who can take part in Art Weeks 2012 Open Studios Event?
i. Individual Artists
The Open Studios event is for individual artists in Somerset!
The event is organised to provide an opportunity for artists in Somerset to showcase and demonstrate their work to the public within their studio space. It is an opportunity for artists to market their work to potential buyers, curators, dealers, and their diverse audiences. It is also an opportunity for those who wish to sell their work directly to buyers without the necessity of dealing with commercial or public galleries.
We appreciate many artists wish to take part in Art Weeks 2012 but need to find suitable studios, especially those who are emerging artists, producing work at home and/or producing video, installation and site-specific work.
Please let us know:
- If you have extra space and would like to share with other artists (max 3 artists per studio)
- If you are looking for space
Email SAW office: info@somersetartworks.org.uk
ii. Schools and Education providers
It is all about the practice and process of art making!
Many buyers would like to know more about what they are buying and discover how a beautiful piece of artwork is made. Therefore, Open Studios is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate artistic skills. There is certainly an educational aspect to the event and it provides an opportunity for the public to understand more about art making.
In the 2010 Open Studios Event, we welcomed schools and educational institutions to join us to demonstrate the creativity and contribution that the education sector brings to visual arts development in Somerset. Contact SAW for details.
iii. Galleries and Organisations
Opportunity to promote your business!
Open Studios is about individual artists and an opportunity for visitors to engage with the process of art making. If you are a gallery or organisation thinking about taking part, Art Weeks 2012 Open Studios Event will be the event for you. However, you may want to benefit from the marketing opportunities generated from the event by advertising in our coloured guide (with distribution totalling 45,000). Please contact us by emailing info@somersetartworks.org.uk or call 01458 253800
4. What is the fee to take part?
Up to a maximum of THREE artists may share a studio/ workshop space.
ONE Artist/Maker - £190 (Less £20 for Emerging Artist) (Includes name of the artist, 70 words of guide text, 1 image and venue entry on website)
TWO Artists Sharing - £ 280 (Less £20 per Emerging Artist) (Includes names of the artists, 90 words of guide text, 1 image* and venue entry on website, *additional image £50/each)
THREE Artists Sharing - £370 (Less £20 per Emerging Artist) (Includes names of the artists, 110 words of guide text, 1 image* and venue entry on website, *additional image £50/each)
School & Non-selling - £100
*Each additional image - £50 per image
Image processing for photograph and slide - £15 each
5. How can organisations and public venues be part of Art Weeks 2012?
Artist-in-residence
We will accept registrations that feature an artist-in-residence. That means you can turn your venue into a temporary studios space that accommodates artists working on-site. Many artists, especially working in new-media, installation, participatory and site-specific work will welcome this opportunity. SAW also welcomes working with you on a partnership basis to help organise this and provide opportunities for our member artists; please contact us to discuss.
Advertising in the Art Weeks Guide
Galleries and organisations can also benefit from the publicity of Art Weeks through advertising in the Art Weeks Guide. Advertising deadline in May, please contact SAW for details.
Please CLICK HERE to see the Advertising Rate and download the Booking Form. Deadline of receiving your booking on 1st April 2012.
Partnership Signpost/ Taster Show
SAW would like to work in partnership with organisations and venues across Somerset to present Signpost/ Taster Show during Art Weeks 2012. These signpost shows will be part of an audience development programme focusing on sharing and increasing knowledge of collecting and purchasing contemporary art and craft. We encourage organisations to organise talks, lectures and seminars as part of the programme. Organisations taking part will work closely with the Art Weeks Coordinator and our Curatorial Services to ensure shows and events are part of coherent programme. We are seeking partnership organisations that wish to be part of this programme. This will provide a marketing opportunity for your organisation and allow you to be a key player in the success of this year’s Art Weeks event, adding benefit to the development of visual arts development in Somerset.
6. What does the participant get from SAW?
Being part of Art Weeks gives you the opportunity to be part of the biggest visual arts event in the county. Details and images of your art works will appear in a free full colour guide - 45,000 copies of which will be distributed throughout Somerset and beyond. Art Weeks will also mount an effective publicity campaign and extensive audience development programme to ensure that the event is brought to the attention of a wide audience locally, nationally and internationally.
In addition, you will be connected to a comprehensive network of local artists and have access to new audiences/visitors attracted by the event. You will be part of the support networks championing visual art creation in Somerset.
7. What are Area Representatives? What will he/she do for you?
You will be assigned a volunteer area representative, who supports SAW to organise guide distribution and networking in your area. He/she will contact you and let you know if there are any meetings or marketing initiatives planned which will, with everyone's support, help to highlight the exhibitions in the area and will make Art Weeks an even greater success. This is a good opportunity to network with local artists. However, our area representative is working on a voluntary basis and may not be the right person to speak to regarding the administration of the event (i.e. PLI, risk assessment etc) as they may not be able to answer your enquiry. Please therefore contact the SAW office regarding any urgent matters.
Your area representative will also give you details of where and when the publicity materials will be available for collection in July. These may include guides, posters, flags, balloons, stickers and banners.
8. How does SAW promote Art Weeks 2012?
By the beginning of July, SAW will have produced 45,000 copies of the guide, ready for distribution via key venues throughout the county, along with several thousand posters plus other promotional material. SAW will organise a high profile press and advertising campaign from Jan 2012 onward, targeting newspapers, magazines, television and radio in order to promote the event as widely as possible.
9. How does SAW develop audiences for Art Weeks? What is the educational and audience development programme this year?
SAW continues to commit to developing new audiences for Art Weeks. In 2008, we recorded 24% of visitors as first time visitors to Art Weeks. This confirmed our commitment to bringing new visitors to the event through different initiatives, such as the educational programme.
i. Educational Programme
In 2008, the programme successfully worked with more than 200 young people through school tours and workshops. Since then, SAW has worked in partnership with SPAEDA again to provide the educational programme for Art Weeks 2012 and bring this successful event to the young people of Somerset.
ii. Activities Calendar
We will publish Workshops, Private Views and Events that artists have organised during Art Weeks. We realise that many artists make their sales and introductions to new clients through these activities. Activities that we will publish in the guide include the following:
- Professional Workshops
- Art activities for family and children (you must have CRB check to provide this, please also see our Child Protection Policy)
- Private Views
- Events (demonstration and Have-a-go activities)
iii. Highlighting Artists at Work
Artists' practices and studios are the focus of the event and this will be the main selling point of Art weeks 2012. Therefore it is key to highlight artists at work to attract visitors to the event. In 2010, we produced 'Artists at Work', a project commissioning three artists to produce film installation work at The Brewhouse Theatre and Art Centre, featuring artists in their working studios. We also invited 10 artists to contribute their work to a photo shoot at Barrington Court. A range of high quality photographs were produced and used in the design of the Art Weeks Guide and publicity materials. Information on similar opportunities will be published on the SAW website and e-bulletin in December 2011.
iv. Signpost Show/ Taster Shows
Signpost Show/Taster Shows are key to increasing visitors to the Open Studios Event as they provide a starting point for the visitors. Selections of work profiling established and emerging artists based on art-form or theme can be organised to highlight the quality work provided by our members. These shows will also take place in accessible locations and will support marketing of the Art Weeks event. SAW will organise this in partnership with different organisations, including galleries, artists and public venues.
v. Documentation
From 2009 to 2011, we worked with graduate photographer Kalen Lee (2009), Laura Rouse (2010) and Sebastian King (2011) to produce a range of documentary photographs to be used in post-art weeks marketing. In 2012, we would like to extend the way in which we document the art weeks incorporating SAW’s range of facilities (i.e. website, desktop and new media editing tools). The documentation can be in the form of photographs, film, text and images to be disseminated through the SAW website.
vi. Launch
The event will start with a Launch Party to which all participants are invited, along with sponsors and supporters of Art Weeks. This usually takes place at the beginning of September.
10. What are you expected to do as participant?
Art Weeks is a non profit-making organization; all our staff work on a part-time basis. We are keeping the Registration Fee and Membership Fee affordable to our members, therefore our resources are limited. To ensure the success of your Open Studios Event, we ask participants to:
- Publicise your Open Studios venue wherever possible and use the SAW logo in your publicity materials
- Be aware of communication with SAW.
- Work closely with your area representative in their local initiatives to publicise the event and to help distribute promotional material such as posters if required to do so.
11. What is the registration deadline? Where you can get the registration form?
Registration open: Wed 9th November 2011
Deadline of registration: Tue 31st January 2012
Registration Form will be sent to current SAW members directly. You can also downloaded the form at the Art Weeks 2012 page OR request a paper form to be sent to you.
12. How can you make sure you have registered successfully?
We will send you a confirmation letter once we receive your registration. We will then send you the Guide entry for proofing (May 2012). All details will appear on the website in July once we have received your returned proof.
As our team is working on a part-time basis, the sorting process will take some time, so please do not worry if you do not hear from us immediately. However, if you do not receive the confirmation letter from SAW by the end of March, please contact the SAW office immediately.
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