Open Up Sheffield is the great annual opportunity for anyone interested in the arts, making and creativity to meet over 115 artists and makers (not all at once!) and take a peek into their studios and worklives in and around Sheffield. This year’s event, taking place over two bank holiday weekends (29 Apr-1 May and 6-7 May), again provides you with a chance to engage with talented artists and makers who open their studios to the public, inviting you to witness first-hand the incredible craftsmanship and diversity of creative work on display.
Organised by a group of dedicated volunteers and the artists/makers themselves, Open Up proudly showcases the diversity of the city’s creative community. It is an annual event, now in its 25th year, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in creative environments and learn all about different art forms, techniques and mediums: you’ll find sculpture, installation, painting, printmaking, textiles, ceramics and photography, just to name a few.
Potter, Nigel Cunis
The key pull for the event is the opportunity for visitors to explore workshops, homes and studios tucked away across the city, providing a rare insight into the working processes of the participating artists (as well as the chance to soak up the festival atmosphere and discover hidden Sheffield gems while doing so). The artists love to talk about their work, offering insights into their techniques and motivations and putting the sharing of skills and knowledge at the heart of the event. It’s the perfect way to find some creative inspiration yourself and benefit from some experienced advice – for free!
The spaces themselves are often fascinating, many being based in old buildings steeped in history, creative hubs of art or even the artists’ own back gardens! It’s all about experiencing art at its source, engaging with passionate creatives and – most importantly – having plenty of fun while doing so!
Artist, Karen Sherwood’s studio
Many of the studios are gathered in natural clusters across Sheffield which are ideally located for a whistle-stop tour and, as they’re all handily listed in the free event brochure and on the website www.openupsheffield.co.uk, you’re likely to find somewhere nearby to pop down and pay a visit to or something new and interesting a little further afield to see.
Beyond the opportunity to meet artists and makers in person, Open Up Sheffield offers visitors the chance to touch, feel and buy unique, high-quality works of art directly from the creator. This makes for a much more enjoyable retail experience and the perfect antidote to our online worlds that maybe we’re all perhaps getting a bit fed up of! Bringing it all together, you can even have a real chat with that artist whose work you’ve been admiring for so long on social media.
It all makes for a fantastic day out and a very social event, popular with groups and families, where thousands of people join in with this city-wide festival using the free event guide and website to plan local trips and excursions to different neighbourhoods. You may even surprise yourself by discovering something new on your doorstep!
Artist, Anna-Perotti
Overall, it’s a great opportunity to meet up with talented artists and to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for a unique aspect of the city’s thriving cultural scene: all bubbling away in a variety of interesting spaces and places.
Offering the perfect excuse to grab a few friends and spend some time exploring Sheffield’s rich vein of innovation and creativity, as well as the opportunity to discover parts of the city you might not know so well, it’s one of the hottest dates on the city’s cultural calendar and a must-attend event for anyone interested in the arts and crafts.
We’ll see you there!
For more information and to download the brochure for this year’s Open Up, head to openupsheffield.co.uk.
Click ‘next’ for interviews and videos with some of the artistsinvolved…
