Join Us
Taking part
Taking part in Open Studios is lots of hard work but is great fun!
The aim of our event is to offer our visitors some interesting and creative days out. We provide them with the opportunity to engage with art/craft, meet the people who make it, see the spaces it's made in, and explore this lovely part of Scotland.
Artists and makers benefit by selling their work directly, taking commissions, signing visitors up to classes and making gallery contacts. They are often inspired to explore new themes or methods from ideas generated from discussion with visitors. Artists also hear feedback about their work directly, which is not readily available if they usually exhibit in galleries and public spaces.
Criteria for participation
To be a participant in Open Studios North Fife you need to:
- Be currently working full or part-time as a professional artist or designer-maker
- Produce original work of an excellent standard and work in a professional manner (This includes ideally having an online presence –which can be as little as a social media page dedicated to presenting your work or a free website used as a gallery.)
- Have a permanent work space in the North Fife area. (This workspace can be a purpose-built studio, a converted garden shed, a well–equipped kitchen table, a rented WASPS studio – anywhere, as long as you can safely and appropriately display how you work to visitors.)
- Be present in your studio for the duration of the Open Studios event and importantly, explain your work, creative processes and techniques to visitors.
- Help with distribution of publicity materials and other tasks in the run up to the event.
- Ensure you have public liability insurance.
It doesn't matter where you learnt your skills, or how long you've been working as an artist/maker. We care that your work is of excellent quality and you can present and talk about it in a professional manner.
We ask everyone who participates in Open Studios North Fife to ensure they understand the demands of the event, to plan appropriately and if necessary, ask for help from family and friends.
Applicants with extenuating circumstances are advised to email the committee for guidance at openstudiosnorthfife@gmail.com
Open Studios North Fife is an inclusive event. As long as your art/craft is of a professional standard, we will try to find a solution that lets you participate. To find out more about our Equalities Framework please follow this link: OSNF_Equal_Opportunities_Framework_Final.docx
How do I Apply?
OSNF is a professional artist's event. Each new applicant is reviewed by our committee to decide if they fit our criteria; their work is to an excellent standard; and they have a professional approach to their work. The committee doesn't allow personal taste to affect their decision, concentrating instead on whether the artwork is executed to a high standard.
To apply to participate in Open Studios, send an email to openstudiosnorthfife@gmail.com with the following information:
- Your name
- Your address
- The address of your studio
- Some images of your work which showcase your skill, or a link to your website.
- Brief details about what you make; where you have exhibited; commissions; etc. (any details which help show you are professional in terms of your approach to work, and that your work has previously been selected for display.)
You will be sent the registration forms if your application has been approved by members of the committee.
The application period is from the beginning of August to the end of October every year.
If applicants are not approved, we offer constructive feedback, the offer of support/advice and encouragement to apply the following year.
New artists who don't have much exhibiting experience are welcome, and we offer a bursary to one promising new artist. This allows them to take part in Open Studios North Fife without paying our participation fee.
Bursary Award
The Howe of Fife Rotary sponsors an annual bursary to help and encourage new artists to take part in our Open Studios event. The award winner gets to participate in the event without paying the registration fee.
Candidates can either apply for the bursary themselves or be nominated by a past/present OSNF participant. To be considered:
- Applicants need to be eligible to exhibit (as per the criteria of participation section above) and had their work reviewed and accepted by the committee.
- Applicants must be a first-time exhibitor with Open Studios North Fife.
- Applicants must be early on in their artistic career, or early in their return to an artistic career.
- Applicants need to write a 200 word statement explaining why they should be considered for the bursary.
- After Open Studios weekend, applicants must give a 20 minute talk to the Howe of Fife Rotary about the benefit of winning the bursary, supported by the OSNF committee.
Applications should be emailed by 31st October to openstudiosnorthfife@gmail.com